[2] After positioning in which the patient sits upright with their arms at the side, with the chest clear of clothing, the four stages of the examination can be carried out.

These fields are intended to correlate with the lung lobes and are thus tested on the anterior (front) and posterior (back) chest walls.

This is typically conducted under the pretext of some other exam, so that the patient does not subconsciously change their baseline respiratory rate, as they might do if they were aware of the examiner observing their breathing.

During palpation, the physician checks for areas of tenderness, abnormalities of the skin, respiratory expansion and fremitus.

[14] Percussion is the act of tapping on the surface of the body in order to assess the structures that lie beneath the skin.