Medical exams, whether they're for school, a sport, or camp, are usually pretty straightforward. Many parts of the exam make sense to most guys: The scale is used to weigh you, the stethoscope is used to listen to your heartbeat.

When you are healthy and going for a physical exam, the doctor is interested in finding out specific things about your body and your health. He or she will check your height and weight and take your blood pressure. You'll have your heart listened to, and you may be asked to breathe deeply or cough, so the doctor can hear sounds or problems with your lungs. He or she will examine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat; test your reflexes by tapping your knees and ankles; and take your temperature. For all these parts of the exam, the doctor relies on tools and equipment to get the information that's needed.

However, for other parts of your body, the doctor must rely on his or her sense of touch and training in knowing how things should feel. During the physical, the doctor will touch your belly to feel for any problems with your liver or spleen. He or she will feel the lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, and groin to detect if there is any swelling, which can indicate an infection or other problem. And he or she will also need to feel the testicles and the area around them to detect two important things: a hernia or a tumor.

A doctor is able to feel for a hernia by using his or her fingers to examine the area around the groin and testicles. The doctor may ask you to cough while he or she is pressing on or feeling the area. Sometimes, the hernia causes a bulge that the doctor can detect; if this happens, surgery almost always repairs the hernia completely.

It's very important that your doctor examines your testicles at least once a year. When examining your testicles, your doctor will grasp one testicle at a time, rolling it gently between his or her thumb and first finger. He or she will feel for lumps and also pay attention to whether the testicle is hardened or enlarged. The doctor will explain how to do testicular self-exams.

If you're a teen guy, learning how to examine yourself at least once a month for any lumps or bumps on your testicles is very important. A tumor (growth or bump) on the testicles could be cancer. Knowing how your testicles feel when they're healthy will help you know when something feels different and possibly abnormal down there.

Noticing any new testicular lumps or bumps as soon as possible gives the best chances for survival and total cure if it turns out to be cancer.