Knowra Signs and symptoms Signs and symptoms Signs are objective findings observed or measured by others; symptoms are experiences reported by the person affected. Together they provide evidence about health conditions.
Medical history : A record of a person's past and present health, illnesses, treatments, and relevant family and social factors. Symptoms are elicited through questions about onset, duration, severity, and context.
Diagnostic reasoning : The process of using clinical evidence to identify or narrow possible explanations for a health problem. Clinicians combine signs and symptoms to compare possible causes.
Triage : The prioritization of people for care according to the urgency and severity of their needs. Certain symptoms and signs signal time-sensitive threats requiring rapid care.
Disease : A pathological condition that disrupts normal structure or function and has characteristic causes or mechanisms. A disease is an underlying condition, not the evidence used to recognize it.
Physical examination : The systematic assessment of a person's body using inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. Examination produces observable signs that can support or challenge reported symptoms.
Differential diagnosis : A list of conditions that could explain a person's findings, considered and narrowed through further evidence. The same findings can fit several conditions, so alternatives must be weighed.
Emergency medicine : The medical specialty focused on evaluating and treating acute illness and injury. Rapid interpretation of presenting findings shapes immediate stabilization and treatment.
Syndrome : A recurring set of signs, symptoms, or findings that occur together and characterize a clinical condition. A syndrome names a pattern of findings, sometimes without specifying its cause.
Vital signs : Measurements of basic physiological functions, commonly including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. These common signs quantify bodily changes that may accompany a condition.
Clinical sign : An objective indication of a health condition that can be observed or measured by someone other than the affected person. This is the observable half of the signs-and-symptoms distinction.
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