Diagnosis Facts

Diagnosis is when a doctor works out what a patient is suffering from – the illness and perhaps its cause.
The history is the patient’s own account of their illness. This provides the doctor with a lot of clues.
The prognosis is the doctor’s assessment of how the illness will develop in the future.
Symptoms are changes which the patient or others notice and report.
Signs are changes the doctor detects on examination and maybe after tests.
After taking a history the doctor may carry out a physical examination, looking at the patient’s body for symptoms such as swelling and tenderness.
A stethoscope is a set of car tubes which allows the doctor to listen to sounds made by the body, such as breathing and the heart beating.
With certain symptoms, a doctor may order laboratory tests of blood and urine samples. Devices such as ultrasounds and X-rays may also be used to take special pictures.
Doctors nowadays may use computers to help them make a diagnosis
In future, many illnesses will be diagnosed entirely by computer.

This entry is filed under Interesting Facts.