Is Physical Diagnosis a Lost Art?

Abstract

With the current emphasis on laboratory findings in clinical diagnosis, the fundamental principles of physical diagnosis often are not applied.

Many clinical conditions can be diagnosed merely by a carefully taken history and close inspection of the patient. The other basic tenets of physical diagnosis are palpation, percussion and auscultation.

The authors describe various diseases which may be properly evaluated by physical diagnosis, emphasizing that confirmatory laboratory tests should be ordered only after complete examination.