Inspection of the chest is the first part of the physical examination of the respiratory system. It frequently provides the first impressions of a specific respiratory ailment. In this chapter, a systematic approach to inspection of the chest is discussed. Since the findings on inspection are conventionally confirmed by palpation, palpation is included in this chapter, for the purposes of convenience. Palpation, of course, has a value of its own. The information presented is correlated with the pathophysiology of the diagnoses under consideration, thereby providing insight into the mechanisms operative in disease. Included in this chapter, for the purposes of convenience, is palpation, which is used not only to confirm the findings on inspection but has a value of its own. Wherever possible, the information presented is correlated with the diagnostic possibilities, thereby providing insight into the pathogenesis of underlying disease. The information presented in this chapter is integrated closely with that in the subsequent chapters on percussion (Chap. 20 ) and auscultation (Chap. 21 ) and indeed with the chapter that deals with synthesising all the findings elicited on the examination of the respiratory system into a single unified diagnosis (Chap. 22 ).