Excerpt from Outline for History Taking and Physical Examination In order to take a good history and make a satisfactory physical examination, the medical student must have a method and be fully conscious Of what he is trying to do. The primary object Of the history and examination is to determine in what way the patient is unwell and if possible, the character and situation Of his trouble. The patient comes to the physician with some complaint from which he seeks relief. In the 'history Of Present Illness' an attempt is made to analyse this complaint completely and to correlate it with other symptoms and signs which may be discovered. This is followed by the 'functional Enquiry' in which one enquires in a detailed fashion into the functional efficiency Of the various organs and systems; next, the 'history Of Past Illnesses', 'personal His tory' and 'family History', which indicate in what manner these may have contributed to the present condition Of the patient. A good history is of invaluable help in solving the problem presented. After the 'history' comes the 'physical Examination' in which one examines the physical state Of the patient from head to foot. When the history and physical examination Of the patient have been completed, the physician should be fairly well qualified to answer the patient's question: Doctor, what is the matter with and to treat him intelligently. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.