Signs and symptoms Contents

Anamnestic signs[edit]

Anamnestic signs (from anamnēstikós, ἀναμνηστικός, "able to recall to mind") are signs that indicate a past condition, for example paralysis in an arm may indicate a past stroke.^[34]: 81

Asymptomatic[edit]

Some diseases including cancers, and infections may be present but show no signs or symptoms and these are known as asymptomatic.^[6] A gallstone may be asymptomatic and only discovered as an incidental finding.^[6] Easily spreadable viral infections such as COVID-19 may be asymptomatic but may still be transmissible.^[35]

History[edit]

Symptomatology[edit]

A symptom (from Greek σύμπτωμα, "accident, misfortune, that which befalls",^[36] 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.^[37][38][39] This study also includes the indications of a disease.^[40] It was first described as semiotics by Henry Stubbe in 1670 a term now used for the study of sign communication.^{[citation needed]}

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".^[41][42] 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".^[34]: 82