Heating Element?

The main heating element in my electric oven seems to have blown. Is there an easy way to tell if it is the element that is at fault i.e physical signs of damage or is there any other test such as testing the resistive properties of the element with a multimeter.
If this is the case, what kind of readings should I expect from a working element and a faulty one.
What I don't want to do is presume that it is the element that is at fault, buy a replacement only to find that i have misdiagnosed the problem.
any help on this would be much appreciated

Paul
March 2010