<unk> , or<unk> , is a medical process where a clinician working in the field of<unk>  health (usually a psychotherapist, social worker, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse or psychologist) systematically examines a patient's mind.  Each area of function is considered separately under categories in a way similar to a physical examination performed by physicians.  However, much of the material for the<unk>  is gathered during psychiatric history taking.  The result of this examination is combined with the psychiatric history to produce a "psychiatric formulation" of the person being examined. 
The purpose of the<unk>  is to obtain a comprehensive cross-sectional description of the patient's<unk>  state, which, when combined with the biographical and historical information of the psychiatric history, allows the clinician to make an accurate diagnosis and formulation, which are required for coherent treatment planning.
Neurologist, emergency physicians, and other physicians perform<unk> s from different perspectives.  In general, the neurological exam seeks evidence of localizable brain anomaly; the emergency physician may wish to quickly discover the effects of head trauma or intoxication (poisoning).
It is a structured way of observing and describing a patient's current state of mind, under the domains of appearance, attitude, behavior, mood and affect, speech, thought process, thought content, perception, cognition, insight and judgment.  There are some minor variations in the subdivision of the<unk>  and the sequence and names of<unk>  domains.  The data are collected through a combination of direct and indirect means: unstructured observation while obtaining the biographical and social information, focused questions about current symptoms, and formalised psychological tests.  The<unk>  is not to be confused with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), which is a brief neuro-psychological screening test for [[dementia]}
The<unk>  accesses behavioral and cognitive functioning. Behavioral components include, appearance and general behavior, level of consciousness and attentiveness, motor and speech activity, mood and affect, thought and perception, attitude and insight, and the reaction evoked in the examiner.  Cognitive components include alertness, language, memory, constructional ability, and abstract reasoning.
There are many versions of<unk> , which differ around the world but there is a broad commonality.  Some schemes look at ego psychology and defence mechanisms while others are more concise.
▸ Click on the following categories to learn more.<unk><unk>  Exam
▸  Components
▸  Role of the Examiner
▸  Mini<unk>  state examination
▸  MoCA
Mental status examination
Cognitive test
Dementia physical examination
Visual routine
Delirium physical examination
Mini mental state examination
Alzheimer's disease physical examination
Amnesia physical examination