Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care

Book excerpt: This text offers students, residents, and practitioners a systematic approach to differential diagnosis of symptoms and signs seen by primary care physicians. The text is organized by symptoms and signs into categories—pain, mass, bloody discharge, non-bloody discharge, functional changes, and abnormal laboratory results. It shows readers how to use their basic science knowledge to identify the possible causes of each symptom, and describes the procedures and laboratory tests that need to be included in the workup. This edition includes fifty new signs and symptoms, case histories for approximately ninety common symptoms and signs, and updated information on current diagnostic procedures.