Chapter 11 The nervous system Who could have foretold, from the structure of the brain, that wine could derange its functions? Hippocrates (460–375 BC) The neurological history The neurological history…

Chapter 6 The gastrointestinal system To study the phenomena of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to…

Chapter 9 The rheumatological system The rheumatism is a common name for many aches and pains which have yet got no peculiar appellation, though owing to very different causes. William…

Chapter 4 The cardiovascular system The heart … moves of itself and does not stop unless for ever. Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) This chapter deals with the history and the…

Chapter 10 The endocrine system A physician is obligated to consider more than a diseased organ, more even than the whole man—he must view the man in his world. Harvey…

Chapter 8 The haematological system [T]he blood is the generative part, the fountain of life, the first to live, the last to die and the primary seat to the soul….

Chapter 5 The respiratory system A medical chest specialist is long-winded about the short-winded. Kenneth T Bird (b. 1917) This chapter deals with common respiratory symptoms, and the examination of…

Chapter 15 The skin, nails, and lumps For one mistake made for not knowing, ten mistakes are made for not looking. JA Lindsay The dermatological history With any rash or…

Chapter 13 The eyes, ears, nose and throat Diagnosis is not the end, but the beginning of practice. Martin H Fischer The examination of the eyes and ears, nose and…

Chapter 7 The genitourinary system You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles. Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) Despite their very different…