Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition.
Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences.[1] A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showing on a medical scan. A symptom is something out of the ordinary that is experienced by an individual such as feeling feverish, a headache or other pains in the body.[2][3]
Signs and symptoms[edit]
Signs[edit]
A medical sign is an objective observable indication of a disease, injury, or medical condition that may be detected during a physical examination.[4] These signs may be visible, such as a rash or bruise, or otherwise detectable such as by using a stethoscope or taking blood pressure. Medical signs, along with symptoms, help in forming a diagnosis. Some examples of signs are nail clubbing of either the fingernails or toenails, an abnormal gait, and a limbal ring a darkened ring around the iris of the eye.
Terms[edit]
Symptomatic[edit]
When a disease is evidenced by symptoms it is known as symptomatic. There are many conditions including subclinical infections that display no symptoms, and these are termed asymptomatic. Signs and symptoms may be mild or severe, brief or longer-lasting when they may become reduced (remission), or then recur (relapse or recrudescence) known as a flare-up. A flare-up may show more severe symptoms.[10]
The term chief complaint, also "presenting problem", is used to describe the initial concern of an individual when seeking medical help, and once this is clearly noted a history of the present illness may be taken. The symptom that ultimately leads to a diagnosis is called a cardinal symptom. Some symptoms can be misleading as a result of referred pain, where for example a pain in the right shoulder may be due to an inflamed gallbladder and not to presumed muscle strain.[11]
Prodrome[edit]
Many diseases have an early prodromal stage where a few signs and symptoms may suggest the presence of a disorder before further specific symptoms may emerge. Measles for example has a prodromal presentation that includes a hacking cough, fever, and Koplik's spots in the mouth.[12] Over half of migraine episodes have a prodromal phase.[13] Schizophrenia has a notable prodromal stage,[14] as has dementia.[15]
Nonspecific symptoms[edit]
Some symptoms are specific, that is, they are associated with a single, specific medical condition.
Nonspecific symptoms, sometimes also called equivocal symptoms,[16] are not specific to a particular condition. They include unexplained weight loss, headache, pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, night sweats, and malaise.[17] A group of three particular nonspecific symptoms – fever, night sweats, and weight loss – over a period of six months are termed B symptoms associated with lymphoma and indicate a poor prognosis.[18]
Other sub-types of symptoms include:
History[edit]
Symptomatology[edit]
A symptom (from Greek σύμπτωμα, "accident, misfortune, that which befalls",[49] from συμπίπτω, "I befall", from συν- "together, with" and πίπτω, "I fall") is a departure from normal function or feeling. Symptomatology (also called semiology) is a branch of medicine dealing with the signs and symptoms of a disease.[50][51][52] This study also includes the indications of a disease.[53] It was first described as semiotics by Henry Stubbe in 1670 a term now used for the study of sign communication.
Prior to the nineteenth century there was little difference in the powers of observation between physician and patient. Most medical practice was conducted as a co-operative interaction between the physician and patient; this was gradually replaced by a "monolithic consensus of opinion imposed from within the community of medical investigators".[54][55] Whilst each noticed much the same things, the physician had a more informed interpretation of those things: "the physicians knew what the findings meant and the layman did not".[47]: 82
Diagnosis[edit]
The recognition of signs, and noting of symptoms may lead to a diagnosis. Otherwise a physical examination may be carried out, and a medical history taken. Further diagnostic medical tests such as blood tests, scans, and biopsies, may be needed. An X-ray for example would soon be diagnostic of a suspected bone fracture. A noted significance detected during an examination or from a medical test may be known as a medical finding.[61]