Which method involves striking the body directly to elicit sounds?

• A. Direct percussion
• B. Indirect percussion
• C. Fist percussion
• D. Percussion tapping on surface

Answer: (A)

Percussion in a physical exam involves creating sounds by tapping on the body to learn about underlying structures. Direct percussion means striking the body directly with a finger to produce those sounds. This method uses the body's surface itself as the striking surface, rather than resting a finger on the skin and tapping with another hand. Indirect percussion, by contrast, places a finger on the body (pleximeter) and taps with the other hand to produce the sound, which tends to give more controlled, localized results. Fist percussion and tapping on a surface are different approaches that don’t align with the direct body contact described here. So, striking the body directly to elicit sounds is the direct percussion method.