Author Description

This textbook describes the practical skills the clinician must acquire and develop in order to evolve diagnostic procedures and management strategies and plans. Macleodsshows how to carry out a competent and professional clinical examination and is intended to complement the information available in standard medical and surgical textbooks. The bookcovers the major divisions of medicine in each chapter e.g. how to take a history, elicit and evaluate problems, the method of examining a patient and how to interpret the significance of your findings. Throughout the book emphasis is placed on the methodof obtaining an accurate history and of performing a physical examination appropriate to the clinical problem. The main chapters conform to a basic pattern. Each starts by describing the relevant symptoms and by discussing their significance. The normalfindings in physical examination are detailed and related to important aspects of applied anatomy and physiology. The examination sequence is then described in detail. Thereafter, the relevance of abnormal signs is discussed. The advantages and limitations of the investigations are described and the chapters conclude by giving examples of the methods in practice. A clear description of the fundamental skills of patient evaluation and examination, answering the questions which arise from this. Starts with two general overview chapters that provide the framework on which to hang the detail. The system chapters document clearly the relevant history, examination and special investigations as well as giving advice on their significance. A book at the heart of learning how to be a good doctor; invaluable for students starting clinical medicine as well as for more senior students and junior doctors, reminding them of the procedures involved in clerking a patient. Closely linked to its sister publication, Davidsons Principles & Practice of Medicine, which complements the information in this text. Now in full colour throughout U