Baily & Love 63: History and Examination of the Abdomen

This episode lays the foundation for all abdominal surgery by returning to first principles: listening, observing, and examining. Listeners are guided through structured abdominal history-taking, recognising patterns of pain, change in bowel habit, bleeding, weight loss, and systemic symptoms.The examination is explored as an active diagnostic process — inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation — with emphasis on distinguishing peritonism, organomegaly, masses, and hernias. The episode highlights how a careful clinical assessment directs investigations, prioritises urgency, and prevents diagnostic drift.This Chapter reminds clinicians that abdominal surgery begins not in theatre or imaging suites, but at the bedside — where the patient’s narrative sets the direction of care. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drmanaankarray.substack.com/subscribe