Esteban Valdez is a patient on a medical-surgical floor of a community hospital. He is experiencing some discomfort in the right buttock area and reports it to Martha Duarte, a licensed vocational (practical) nurse. The patient points to the area of discomfort, and Martha can see a small red dot but no other abnormalities. Martha notes that the location identified by the patient is on the upper lateral side of the right buttock and inferior to the waist. She thinks it may be tenderness due to a recent injection (shot) that was given to the patient and checks the medication record. The record shows that Mr. Valdez had an injection into the RUOQ (right upper outer quadrant) of the buttock.

1.RUQ, RLQ, LUQ, and LLQ do not apply only to the abdomen, but can be used to divide any area into four equal parts (see Figure 6-10). When giving an injection into the buttocks, the only correct sites would be into the upper outer quadrant of either buttock. Based on the description given, where was the small red dot located?

Do you agree with Martha’s conclusion?