Examination of swelling

In medical parlance, swelling is the transient enlargement or protuberance in the body and may include tumors. According to cause, it may be congenital, traumatic, inflammatory, neoplastic or miscellaneous.It can occur throughout the body (generalized), or a specific part or organ can be affected (localized). Swelling is considered one of the five characteristics of inflammation; along with pain, heat, redness, and loss of function.In a general sense, the suffix "-megaly" is used to indicate a growth, as in hepatomegaly, acromegaly, and splenomegaly.A body part may swell in response to injury, infection, or disease, as well as because of an underlying lump. Swelling — especially swelling of the ankle can also occur if the body is not circulating fluid well.Generalized swelling, or massive edema (also called anasarca), is a common sign in severely ill people. Although slight edema may be difficult to detect to the untrained eye, especially in an overweight person, massive edema is very obvious.