Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology.
Palpation
How to say it:Palpation(pal-PAY-shun)
Where it comes from:Latin,palpare, “to stroke or caress”
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Where you might see or hear it: When your provider does an exam, they may need to feel different parts of your body. Topalpatea part of your body means to touch and feel it. If an area of your body does not feel normal when your provider is palpating it, there might be a problem.
For example, your provider might palpate under your ribcage on the left side to see if they can feel yourspleen. If the organ feels bigger than usual, it can be a sign that your body is fighting an infection. It could also mean that there’ssomething wrong with the spleen.
It can also help to reassure your loved one that most of the time, a provider only needs to briefly touch a patient to palpate a specific part of the body.
Palpation can be uncomfortable but it usually does not hurt. If it does hurt when your provider is palpating a part of your body, it can actually be a sign that something’s wrong.
Why Providers Use Palpation During an Exam
SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster.Definition of palpate.
Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster.Definition of palpate.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Merriam-Webster.Definition of palpate.
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