reducibility
Last reviewed 01/2018
A lump is reducible if it can be pushed away into another place but will not spontaneously reappear without the addition of force e.g. gravity or raised intra-abdominal pressure. It is best to ask the patient to reduce the lump.
Hernias may be reducible. If a lump can be reduced then ask the patient to cough and feel for a cough impulse. A cough impulse may be present in hernias and some vascular lumps.