There is a lot to think about when you examine a patient. You want to classify the injury as acute or chronic. You should also be familiar with the signs and symptoms of common chronic inflammatory conditions and be able to describe soft tissue wounds according to the degree of severity.

Furthermore, you should be on the lookout for injuries of the bone and joint articulations, such as closed fractures or dislocations, and look for signs of nerve injuries. We will be covering each of those areas in subsequent material.

The first step in the physical examination of the injured patient is taking an appropriate medical history. Lets look at Jim's medical file and work with his information in this section.