How to examine the abdomen
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.
In the abdominal exam you listen before you touch, because pressing can change the bowel sounds. Start away from the pain and finish there.
Step by step
Prepare
Clean your hands, introduce yourself, get consent, patient lying flat with arms at the sides, exposed from below the chest to the hips with a drape. [1]
Ask where it hurts
You will examine that area last. [1]
Inspect
Shape, distension, scars, visible movement or pulsation, hernias, skin changes. [1]
Listen
Bowel sounds in each quadrant, and listen over the aorta and the renal arteries for bruits. [1]
Percuss
All four quadrants. Note dullness, tympany and the liver span. [1]
Light then deep palpation
Light pressure in all four quadrants while watching the face, then deeper. Feel for the liver edge, the spleen and the aorta. [1]
Signs of peritonitis
Guarding, rigidity and pain on release (rebound). Check the right lower quadrant for appendicitis signs. [2]
Finish
Check costovertebral angle tenderness, cover the patient and explain the findings. [1]
Common errors
- Palpating before listening.
- Starting at the painful area.
- Not watching the patient's face while palpating.
Practice it in VMS
In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
VMS cases that train this skill
Sources
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
- NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.