2026 Complete Medical Terminology Practice Test for Nursing Level 1

The main idea here is inspection—the visual, systematic examination of a person’s appearance, structure, function, and behavior. This step is about what you can see with your eyes: general survey, posture, gait, facial expression, hygiene, symmetry, skin color, and any signs of distress or disability. It sets the stage for the rest of the exam by giving you a baseline and alerting you to areas that may need closer check.

Auscultation, palpation, and percussion are different techniques. Auscultation involves listening to sounds produced by the body with a stethoscope (like heart and lung sounds). Palpation means using the sense of touch to assess texture, temperature, tenderness, or swelling. Percussion uses tapping to evaluate underlying structures and density. These either rely on sound, touch, or vibration rather than solely visual observation, so they aren’t the best fit for describing a visual, systematic examination of appearance and behavior.