percussion

(pər-kŭsh'ən)
n.

1. The striking together of two bodies, especially when noise is produced.
2. The sound, vibration, or shock caused by the striking together of two bodies.
3. The act of detonating a percussion cap in a firearm.
4. A method of medical diagnosis in which various areas of the body, especially the chest, back, and abdomen, are tapped to determine by resonance the condition of internal organs.
5. Music.
   1. The section of a band or orchestra composed of percussion instruments.
   2. Percussion instruments or their players considered as a group.

[Latin percussiō, percussiōn-, from percussus, past participle of percutere, to percuss. See percuss.]

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noun

Violent forcible contact between two or more things: bump, collision, concussion, crash, impact, jar, jolt, shock¹, smash. See conflict/cooperation.

n. the striking of one solid object with or against another with some degree of force.

percussive adj. percussively adv.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

The tapping of a body-part with a hammer or fingers to gain information about the condition of underlying structures.

A family of musical instruments played by striking their surfaces. Percussion instruments are used to accentuate and dramatize certain notes or rhythms and include instruments such as cymbals, drums, triangles, and xylophones. (See kettledrum, snare drum, and orchestra.)

In veterinary diagnosis, striking a part of the body with short, sharp blows of the fingers in order to determine the size, position and density of the underlying parts by the sound obtained. Percussion is most commonly used on the chest and back for examination of the heart and lungs. For example, since the heart is not resonant and the adjacent lungs are, when the examiner's fingers strike the chest over the heart the sound waves will change in pitch. This serves as a guide to the precise location and size of the heart. The value of percussion in animals is limited by their haircoat, their reluctance to cooperate and their anatomy. Radiology and ultrasonographic imaging have pretty much supplanted the percussionist.

• auscultatory p. — auscultation of the sound produced by percussion. See also auscultation with percussion.
• immediate p. — that in which the blow is struck directly against the body surface.
• mediate p. — that in which a pleximeter is used.
• palpatory p. — a combination of palpation and percussion, affording tactile rather than auditory impressions. See also ballottement.

(perkush′ən)
n

The act of striking an area, a structure, or an organ as an aid in diagnosing a diseased condition by the sensations reported by the patient and by the sounds heard by the examiner.

For a list of words related to percussion, see:

• Procedures - percussion: striking or tapping of body part, either with fingers or plessor, during examination, thus producing sounds which are studied for diagnostic purposes
• Instrument Types and Groupings - percussion: any instrument that is a solid or hollow object struck, shaken, or scraped

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - slag, sammenstød

idioms:

• percussion cap    sprænghætte

Nederlands (Dutch)
slagwerk, percussie

Français (French)
n. - percussion

idioms:

• percussion cap    capsule fulminante

Deutsch (German)
n. - (An)schlag, Schlagzeug, Perkussion

idioms:

• percussion cap    Zündhütchen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κρούση, (μουσ.) κρουστά (όργανα)

idioms:

• percussion cap    καψούλι

Italiano (Italian)
percussione

idioms:

• percussion cap    detonatore, fulminante

Português (Portuguese)
n. - percussão (f)

idioms:

• percussion cap    cápsula fulminante

Русский (Russian)
удар, столкновение, перкуссия, игра на ударных инструментах

idioms:

• percussion cap    ударный взрыватель

Español (Spanish)
n. - percusión

idioms:

• percussion cap    cápsula fulminante, pistón

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - slag, stöt (läk.), slagverk, batteri (instrum.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
打, 敲, 振动, 冲击, 敲打乐器

idioms:

• percussion cap    雷管, 火帽

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 打, 敲, 振動, 衝擊, 敲打樂器

idioms:

• percussion cap    雷管, 火帽

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 충격, 진동, 퍼커션(타악기)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 打楽器, パーカッション, 打楽器部, 衝突, 震動, 衝撃

idioms:

• percussion cap    雷管

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صدم, قدح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הקשה, דפיקה‬

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