Propedeutic medical procedures are some of the simplest that a doctor will perform during a diagnostic process. They include palpation, temperature examination, and percussion.
Propedeutic procedures are those which doctors use to provide preliminary information during the diagnostic process. The word itself means to provide "introductory instruction."
Medical Examination
The basic medical exam (or physical) is the most common propedeutic procedure that a doctor will perform. It is mainly observational in nature and involves inspection of body features such as skin, weight, respiration, movement, hair, muscle tone, odor, and eye and ear health.
Palpation
Palpation simply means to touch or manipulate. During palpation, a doctor will physically examine lumps, inflamed spots, raised lumps, joints, and other areas of the body to determine whether pain or lumps exist. Palpation is an integral part of thoracic and abdominal examination. Midwives also use palpation to determine where in a woman's uterus a fetus is located.
Note: don't confuse palpation with palpitations, which are irregular heart beats.
Percussion
In medicine, percussion describes a process in which a surface (usually the skin) is tapped at regular intervals to try and determine the underlying structure of what is beneath the skin. Percussion is used mostly during thoracic and abdominal inspection but is most commonly associated with lung examination.
During percussion, a doctor places the left hand on the body, and uses the middle finger of the right hand to tap the middle finger of the left hand. The sounds the doctor hears when tapping are indicate what is below the surface. Dull sounds indicate the possible presence of a solid mass, while a resonant sound means air-containing structures are beneath the skin where the tapping is carried out.
Percussion can help diagnose diseases such as emphysema, and can also help determine if organs are enlarged.
Auscultation
During the process of auscultation, a doctor uses medical instruments to listen to sounds within the body. A very common example is the stethoscope, which most people encounter very early in life.
A doctor carries out auscultation to listen to sounds made by the circulatory and respiratory systems, including the sounds made by the lungs during breathing, and the sounds made by the heart as it beats. A doctor may also use a stethoscope to listen to bowel sounds.
References
The Auscultation Assistant
Palpation at National Institute of Health MedlinePlus