touch

(tŭch )

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[Fr. tochier, to knock, strike, touch]

1. To perceive by the tactile sense; to feel with the hands, to palpate.
2. The sense by which pressure on the skin or mucosa is perceived; the tactile sense.
SYN: SEE: tactile perception
3. Examination with the hand.
SYN: SEE: palpation
Various disorders may disturb or impair the tactile sense or the ability to feel normally. There are a number of words and suffixes pert. to sensation and its modifications. A few of the more important ones are as follows: algesia, -algia, anesthesia, dysesthesia, -dynia, esthesia, esthesioneurosis, hyperesthesia, paresthesia, and synesthesia.

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