MEDICAI. DIAGNOSIS. 



Means of diagnosis. Usual health of the subject. History of the attack. 

 Objective symptoms, interdependent disease, fever, diseases that may be 

 confounded, subsidiary disease, diagnostic signs, organ involved, patholog- 

 ical test injections, course of disease, sporadic or zymotic, result of treat- 

 ment. 



Diagnosis is the determination of the seat and nature of a given 

 di.sease and its distinction from other morbid conditions. Its im- 

 portance to the practitioner cannot be overestimated as it occu- 

 pies the piv^otal position between causes, nature, morbid phenom- 

 ena, and symptoms on the one hand, and prognosis, prevention, 

 and treatment on the other. Unless the conclusions are sound as 

 to causes, nature, lesions, and symptoms, there can be no certain 

 diagnosis, and without a correct diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, 

 and treatment can have no intelligent or vScientific basis. The 

 practitioner who finds a dropsical condition and who is satisfied to 

 pronounce it drop.sy and institute treatment is abusing his trust. 

 He must find whether this drop.sy results from disease of the kid- 

 neys, heart, blood-vesssls, lymphatics, liver, lungs, bowels, or the 

 structures in which it is shown ; whether it is due to parasites or 

 imperfect sanguification or to other morbid conditions, before he 

 dare prescribe treatment and predict results. So in every other 

 affection ; the failure to make a correct diagnosis opens to the 

 practitioner many doors of error, and he is happy indeed if he 

 can escape the injuring of his patient. 



In seeking a sound diagnosis we must attend to the following 

 among other indications : 



ist. The habitual state of health of the subject. The genus, 

 breed, age, environment, habits, (pet dog, watch dog, hound, 

 sheep-dog, ox, bull, cow, milch cow, sheep in the field or 

 housed, pig in pen or at large, diet, regimen, water, race horse, 

 draught horse, work, exposure, etc.) as well as the personal 

 equation of temperament, idiosyncrasy, heredity, etc., must all 

 be carefully con.sidered. 



2d. The history of the present illness as to its apparent cause, 

 mode of invasion, duration and progress. 



3d. The objective symptoms by which it is manifested. All 

 that can be ascertained in the way of symptomatology, local and 



