Some components of a physical exam are familiar, such as listening to the lungs and heart, and assessing blood pressure and pulse. But parts of the Stanford Medicine 25 -- a list of skills that the school considers important for doctors to know how to perform -- may be less familiar. Below are some of those beside tests:

• Feel lymph nodes and differentiate benign enlargement from possible maligancy.
• Evaluate patient's walk for signs of neurological or musculoskeletal impairment.
• Inspect the tongue for the presence of infection or underlying illness.
• Feel the thyroid gland and palpate the spleen to check for enlargement.
• Assess the liver, checking for tenderness and enlargement, and recognize signs of liver disease elsewhere in the body.
• Evaluate tremors and involuntary movements.
• Examine fingernails for signs of kidney, heart or lung disease or nicotine use.
• Check shoulders for range of motion.
• Evaluate knees for pain and movement.

The complete list is available on the Stanford School of Medicine website.