Clinical History, Semiology and Diagnostic Reasoning

What the resources cover

Most of this page is built around presenting symptoms. The mind maps follow a problem from the first complaint to a list of causes. Dizziness branches into inner ear problems, brain hypoperfusion and vertigo. Fever separates types of fever and works towards a diagnosis plan covering infection, malignancy and autoimmune causes. The chest pain map links the character of the pain to likely causes, such as tight, crushing, central pain with radiation and sweating pointing to acute coronary syndrome.

There are also case-led maps, such as the one on a 62 year old male with swelling in neck, which moves through congenital, thyroid, salivary gland and other causes of a neck lump.

Where to start

Begin with the structure of the consultation. The notes on The Clinical Encounter, Physical Exam Order and Principles of history taking give you the framework. Then use the system-based histories, such as Cardio resp History, GI history and Neuro History, to see which questions belong where.

Moving to reasoning

Once the framework feels familiar, turn to diagnostic thinking. The Diagnosis flashcards cover differential diagnosis, ranking hypotheses, gold standards and test characteristics. Clinical reasoning errors is a useful deck for spotting how thinking goes wrong. The flowcharts, including Approach to Chest Pain and Differential diagnosis of abdominal pain in adults, lay out the steps visually.

Using quizzes and maps together

1. Read a symptom map such as Dizziness or Fever.
2. Close it and write down the causes you remember.
3. Check the gaps against the map.
4. Try a quiz such as Clinical SOAP Note or the one on history taking, then return to the weak areas.

Teachers can use the case maps and flowcharts as ready-made starting points for a seminar or a problem-based session.

Where this fits

This unit sits in the strand Foundations of Clinical Practice and Semiology, within Internal medicine, pathology and clinical semiology. Choose one symptom today, work through its map, and then try making a flashcard deck of your own.