In this episode, 4th year medical student, Allison Edwards guides of through a complete Head and Neck examination. A complete head and neck exam is an important skill for any physician to master. While family doctors, pediatricians, emergency physicians and otolaryngologists will use this skill the most, you never know when a family member is going to ask you “oh, and can you look in my ear?”
All joking aside, a large majority of visits presenting to a primary care office consist of ear nose and throat complaints. Whether it is a runny nose, sore throat or ear pain, a complete head and neck exam is often needed to fully assess these concerns.
After listening to this podcast you should be able to:
- Discuss the important elements of the head and neck exam including examination of the ear, nose, oral cavity, cranial nerves and neck.
- Describe important equipment required for a head and neck exam.
- Explain important comp
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I did not realize that it was so important to talk to your doctor about different head and neck exams because they aren’t regularly reviewed. Because the head and neck are part of the central nervous system, they send information to the rest of the body. If you were to have something going on with those parts of your body it could affect the rest of your body. I think that it would be important to have them examined regularly.