Breast Development Mnemonic: ABCDE Stage 1 – Absent development Stage 2 – Breast bud Stage 3 – Common Contour (not separated) Stage 4 – Double mound (contour separated) Stage 5 – End stage development (Adult type) Male Genitalia Development Mnemonic: ABCDE Stage 1 – Absent development Stage 2 – Bulky…
Category: Clinical Skills and Approaches
History taking and examination skills and Flowchart approaches to commonly encountered medical conditions and diseases.
Clinical Skills and Approaches 
Social History : Mnemonics
Mnemonic: FED TACOS Food Exercise Drugs Tobacco Alcohol Caffeine Occupation Sexual history Reference and further reading: History and Physical Examination: A Common Sense Approach By Mark Kauffman (DO.) Mnemonic: 10 Fs Family/Friends: Marital status, Caregivers and their status Fertility: Impotence for men, Other issues for women Food: Dietary history Freud:…
Clinical Skills and Approaches 
Ely’s test
Rectus femoris is the only Quadriceps muscle that cross the hip joint and act as a hip flexor and knee extensor. When the rectus femoris is shortened/tightened, it tends to pull the pelvis forward into anterior pelvic tilt and also forces the knee into hyperextension. Ely’s test: Patient is positioned…
Clinical Skills and Approaches 
Ober’s Test
Tensor fascial latae (TFL) originates from the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) outer surface, outer lip of anterior iliac crest and deep surface of fascia latae, continues down in thigh as Iliotibial band (ITB) and inserts to the ipsilateral Gerdy’s tubercle. TFL plays role in flexion, medial rotation and abduction…
Clinical Skills and Approaches 
Mortarmen’s knee
Synonym: Adult onset tibial tubercle exostoses History: Pain over anterior surface of upper tibia Pain during running, jumping, squatting, kneeling and descending stairs Usually no history of trauma, anterior knee pain or Osgood-Schlatter disease Physical examination: Tenderness over hypertrophic tibial tubercle Quadriceps tightness (Ely’s test) X-rays: AP, lateral and tangential…
Clinical Skills and Approaches 
Modified Ashworth Scale for Spasticity : Mnemonic
Ashworth scale tests resistance to passive motion about a joint with varying degrees of velocity. Modified Ashworth Scale (Bohannon and Smith, 1987) has 1+ grading between grades 1 and 2. Modified Ashworth Scale (Ansari et.al., 2006) has been described here. Mnemonic: Ashworth is a juggling clown 0 : 0 is…
Clinical Skills and Approaches 
Mnemonic Based Approach to Joint Pain
Step 1: Arthralgia vs Arthritis Arthralgia Arthritis Symptom Diagnosis Joint pain without inflammation Joint pain with inflammation (swelling, redness, tenderness) Articular or Non-articular Articular Articular Non-articular Pain with all joint ROMs Pain with only some joint ROMs Most painful at the limit of joint ROM May not be most painful…
Clinical Skills and Approaches 
Thomas Test and Staheli Test
Thomas test Synonym: Hip flexion contracture test, Iliacus test, Iliopsoas test Fixed flexion deformity of the hip and anterior pelvic tilt leads to a compensatory hyperlordosis of the lumbar spine to restore the body’s center of gravity. Compensatory hyperlordosis can mask the fixed flexion deformity of hip. Thomas test: With…