Clinical diagnosis
Clinical diagnosis is the process of identifying a disease or condition by interpreting symptoms, physical signs, medical history, and test results.
Differential diagnosis: A ranked set of possible explanations for a patient's signs and symptoms. Clinicians use it to organize competing explanations before settling on a diagnosis.
Medical history: A structured account of a person's symptoms, past health, medications, and relevant circumstances. The history establishes timing, risk factors, and clues that shape diagnostic possibilities.
Screening (medicine): Testing people without symptoms to identify those who may have an unrecognized disease. Screening identifies possible disease; clinical diagnosis evaluates an individual's evidence to establish a condition.
Pattern recognition: The rapid identification of a familiar configuration of findings based on prior experience. It can produce fast diagnoses, unlike slower stepwise evaluation of alternatives.
Bayesian diagnosis: The use of prior probabilities and new evidence to estimate the likelihood of a disease. Test results update the probability assigned to each candidate condition.
Physical examination: The systematic assessment of a person's body using observation, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. Examination findings provide observable signs that can support or weaken candidate diagnoses.
Prognosis: An estimate of the likely course and outcome of a disease. A diagnosis provides the starting point for estimating what may happen next.
Analytical reasoning: Deliberate evaluation of evidence through explicit hypotheses and logical steps. It contrasts with intuitive pattern recognition when a presentation is unfamiliar or ambiguous.
Clinical decision rule: A validated tool that combines clinical findings to guide diagnostic or management decisions. Rules such as the Wells score standardize decisions in defined clinical situations.
Symptom: A subjective experience of illness reported by the person affected. Symptoms such as pain are evidence, but their meaning depends on context.