This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

History and physical examination

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

History:

  • age of menarche and development of secondary sexual characteristics
  • menstrual history - including regularity of cycle, any abrupt change
  • personal or family history of hirsutism
  • hot flushes
  • galactorrhoea
  • headaches
  • visual symptoms (1)
  • drug usage - especially, combined oral contraceptive pill, phenothiazines, metoclopramide, alpha-methyldopa, tricyclic antidepressants, Rauwolfia alkaloids
  • psychological factors - recent emotional upset, new job, regularity of work hours
  • recent weight change - up or down; exercise history
  • presence of normal sense of smell
  • symptoms of thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary disorders
  • diabetes and it's control
  • gynaecological operations
  • menarche and menstrual history of mother and sisters
  • genetic defects in family members
  • previous CNS chemotherapy or radiation; pelvic radiation (2)

Examination:

  • secondary sexual characteristics - breasts, pubic hair
    • Tanner assessment of pubertal development may be used as a guide (2)
  • height and weight - expressed as percentage of ideal; BMI (2)
  • features of gonadal dysgenesis e.g. webbed neck of Turner's syndrome
  • hirsutism
  • evidence of thyroid, adrenal, pituitary disease
  • breast examination - breast development indicates that some oestrogenic activity has occurred; galactorrhoea may suggest hyperprolactinaemia, breast feeding, neuroleptics
  • abdominal and pelvic examination: - external genitalia - clitoromegaly - presence of uterus - palpable ovaries - pelvic masses or tenderness
    • a bimanual examination is inappropriate in young girls who are not sexually active (1)
  • features of androgen insensitivity syndrome - undescended testes; external genital appearance; pubic hair (2)

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.