On physical examination, refugees from countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East often present with findings that are unfamiliar to primary health care providers in the West. Previous traditional practices that may have left their mark include scarification and burning of the skin, excision of body parts, and subcutaneous insertion of foreign material. The descriptions detailed here introduce providers to some of the signs that result from body modification practices commonly encountered on physical examination of refugees. © 2018 American Board of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

Physical Examination Asia Refugees Health personnel Africa Middle East

foreign body amputation refugee developing country scar formation Developing Countries human Refugees Cicatrix ethnology procedures Foreign Bodies Humans traditional medicine Medicine, Traditional scar cultural factor Article excision burn Burns Cultural Characteristics Physical Examination implantation body modification Body Modification, Non-Therapeutic