71. Temperature

Test vibration sense by placing a vibrating tuning fork on the ball of the patient's right or left large toe or fingers and asking him to report when the vibration stops. Classically, a low-frequency tuning fork (128 or even 64 Hz) is used to test vibration, although some claim that higher-frequency tuning forks (256 or even 512 Hz) may be used. Take care not to place the tuning fork on a bone, since bones conduct the vibration to much more proximal sites, where they can be detected by nerves far from the location being tested.