The idiom of diagnosis

Abstract

A study of medical illustration through the centuries reveals a distinct pattern, the idiom of diagnosis, present in scenes showing physician‐patient relationships. This pattern is derived from the physician's shamanic origins, and expresses his continuing need to maintain a physical contact with the patient, directly or through a surrogate. Motifs like urinoscopy and pulse‐taking exemplify the persistence of the idiom of diagnosis over long periods of time, under many different conditions.