Step 11.—Inspect the chest for wounds. Expose the chest. For unconscious and trauma patients, you should completely remove clothing to expose the chest. (Try to provide as much privacy as possible for patients.) Look for obvious chest injuries, such as cuts, bruises, penetrations, objects impaled in the chest, deformities, burns, or rashes. If puncture or bullet wounds are found, check for exit wounds when inspecting the back. Step 12.—Examine the chest for possible fracture. Before you begin examining the chest for fractures, warn the patient that the examination may be painful. Begin your examination by gently feeling the clavicles (collarbones). Next, feel the sternum (breastbone). Then examine the rib cage by placing your hands on both sides of the rib cage and applying gentle pressure. This process is known as compression. If the patient has a fracture, compression of the rib cage will cause pain. Finally, slide your hands under the patient’s scapulae (shoulder blades) to feel for deformities or tenderness. Point tenderness, painful reaction to compression, deformity, or grating sounds indicate a fracture. If air is felt (like crunching popcorn) or heard (crackling sounds) under the skin, this indicates that at least one rib is fractured or that there is a pneumothorax (punctured lung). You may also observe air escaping the chest cavity and the wound when the patient has a punctured lung. Step 13.—Check for equal expansion of the chest. Check chest movements and feel for equal expansion by placing your hand on both sides of the chest. Be alert to sections of the chest that seem to be “floating” (flail chest) or moving in a direction opposite to the rest of the chest during respiration. Step 14.—Listen for sounds of equal air entry. Using a stethoscope, listen to both sides of the anterior and lateral chest. The sounds of air entry will usually be clearly present or clearly absent. The absence of air movement indicates an obstruction, injury, or illness to the respiratory system. Bubbling, wheezing, rubbing, or crackling sounds may indicate the patient has a medical problem or a trauma-related injury. Step 15.—Inspect the abdomen for wounds. Look for obvious signs of injury (e.g., abdominal distension, cuts, bruises, penetrations, open wounds with protruding organs (evisceration), or burns) in all four quadrants and sides. Step 16.—Palpate the abdomen for tenderness. Look for attempts by the patient to protect his abdomen (e.g., patient drawing up the legs). Gently palpate the entire abdomen. If the patient complains of pain in an area of the abdomen, palpate that area last. Do not palpate over an obvious injury site or where the patient is having severe pain. While palpating the abdomen, check for any tight (rigid) or swollen (distended) areas. Performing abdominal palpation is important because tender areas do not normally hurt until palpated. Note if pain is localized, general, or diffused. Step 17.—Feel the lower back for point tenderness and deformity. Gently slide your hands under the void created by the curve of the spine. Apply gentle pressure to detect point tenderness or any deformities. NOTE: This examination of the lower back may be performed later, when the patient’s entire back is exposed in preparation to being placed on a backboard or stretcher. Step 18.—Examine the pelvis for injuries and possible fractures. Examine the pelvic area for obvious injuries. Next, gently slide your hand down both sides of the small of the patient’s back and apply compression downward and then inward to check the stability of the pelvic girdle. Note any painful responses or deformities. If a grating sound is heard, the injury may involve the hip joint, or the pelvis may be fractured. Step 19.—Note any obvious injury to the genital region. Look for obvious injuries, such as bleeding wounds, objects impaled in the area, or burns. Also, check for priapism in male patients. Priapism is a persistent erection of the penis often brought about by spinal injury or certain medical problems, such as sickle cell crisis. Step 20.—Examine the lower extremities. DO NOT move, lift, or rearrange the patient’s lower extremities (legs and feet) before or during the examination as further injury to the patient may occur. Check for signs of injury by inspecting each limb, one at a time, from hip to foot. Rearrange or remove clothing and footwear to observe the entire examination site. Pants should be removed in a manner that does not aggravate injuries. Cutting along the seams to remove pants is the best method. If the injury is not obvious, remove the shoe(s) and palpate any suspected fracture sites for point tenderness. Before palpating the site, warn the patient that this examination may cause pain. Before the patient is 4-8