Upper Airway Examination
Upper Airway Examination - Related Videos
05:31
Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
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Cited by 4 •
2017
This protocol describes a noninvasive technique for the sampling of undisturbed mucosal lining fluid from the upper airways. It can be used to perform the quantification of in vivo levels of protein mediators, such as cytokines and chemokines, in subjects of all ages.
09:28
COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak: Protecting The Airway - Endotracheal Intubation
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2020
In pandemic times, medical staff is becoming a key resource in fighting the infection. To achieve the best medical care, relevant techniques and procedures have to be taught to medical staff to reduce the risk of infection. COVID patients often need mechanical ventilation due to progredient respiratory insufficiency, so an endotracheal intubation becomes a critical procedure in managing these patients. This procedure has an increased risk of infection due to aerosol formation and working with...
13:00
Studying Wnt Signaling During Patterning of Conducting Airways
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Cited by 4 •
2016
The use of reporter mice coupled to whole mount and section staining, microscopy and in vivo assays facilitates the analysis of mechanisms underlying the normal patterning of the respiratory tract. Here we describe how these techniques contributed to the analysis of Wnt signaling during tracheal development.
11:21
Co-culture Models of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms Grown on Live Human Airway Cells
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Cited by 48 •
2010
This paper describes different methods of growing Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms on cultured human airway epithelial cells. These protocols can be adapted to study different aspects of biofilm formation, including visualization of the biofilm, staining of the biofilm, measuring the colony forming units (CFU) of the biofilm, and studying biofilm cytotoxicity.
20:06
The Comprehensive Infant Examination
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2023
Source: Heather Collette and Jaideep Talwalkar; Yale School of Medicine The newborn exam is important in establishing a baby's baseline health status as they enter the world. Newborn providers have the unique opportunity to evaluate a patient for the very first time. They are also tasked with identifying congenital anomalies that require early intervention to promote a long and healthy life for the child. Many newborn anomalies, such as heart defects, are noted on prenatal ultrasound. However,...
FAQs
Clinicians look for evidence that air can move through the examined structures without significant narrowing. They combine visible swelling or secretions with breathing sounds, voice changes, and observed respiratory effort or structural movement. Concerning findings can provide rapid clues to potential compromise, prompting closer monitoring, further testing, treatment, or urgent airway management.
These observations capture different aspects of upper-airway function. Voice provides information about functional changes, breathing sounds may signal altered airflow, and movement during respiration or swallowing shows how related structures behave. Considered together, they help clinicians connect anatomical appearance with airway function and recognize abnormalities that might not be apparent from inspection alone.
Inspection can show mucosal appearance, swelling, secretions, trauma, or masses, whereas palpation assesses related physical findings. Auscultation contributes information from breathing sounds, and targeted visualization allows closer assessment of selected structures. Using these approaches in combination gives a broader clinical picture than relying on one examination technique alone.
History is interpreted alongside physical findings rather than treated as a separate step. Symptoms and their clinical context can help focus inspection, palpation, auscultation, or visualization on relevant structures and functions. This integrated approach supports assessment of obstruction, infection, inflammation, trauma, masses, and functional abnormalities without depending on a single observed feature.
A practical sequence begins with history, followed by systematic assessment of the nose, mouth, pharynx, larynx, and related structures. The clinician then combines inspection with palpation and auscultation, adding targeted visualization when needed. Attention to mucosa, swelling, secretions, voice, breathing sounds, and movement during respiration and swallowing keeps the assessment comprehensive.
Upper Airway Examination is useful whenever clinicians need rapid information about patency, function, or disease. Its applications span emergency, surgical, respiratory, and primary care settings. The same assessment can support evaluation of suspected obstruction, infection, inflammation, trauma, masses, or functional abnormalities, while helping identify patients who may require urgent attention.
Findings do not stand alone; they help determine what happens next. Depending on the clinical picture, results may guide further testing, treatment, continued monitoring, or urgent airway management. This makes the assessment valuable both for identifying disease-related changes and for recognizing signs that require a faster response before additional evaluation is completed.