The Science Of Signs And Symptoms. In Relation To Modern Diagnosis And Treatment: A Textbook For General Practitioners Of Medicine

BY THE SAME AUTHOR HANDBOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY HALLIBURTON AND MCDOWALL An up-to-date text-book for students and practitioners of medicine. 19th edition. Completely revised. THE SCIENCE OF SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS IN RELATION TO MODERN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT A TEXTBOOK FOR GENERAL PRACTITIONERS OF MEDICINE BY ROBERT JOHN STEWART McDOWALL D . S c , M.B., F.R.C.P. (Edin.) Professor of Physiology, King's College, University of London WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF HUGH ALEXANDER DUNLOP M.D., M.R.C.P. Physician to the Metropolitan and Royal Waterloo Hospitals Late Medical Registrar, Westminster Hospital THIRD EDITLON LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN (MEDICAL BOOKS) LIMITED 1934 Printed in Great Britain PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION W H E N I first wrote this book I did so because it seemed there was a need for such a volume, but I had scarcely anticipated t h a t within two years I should be asked to prepare two more editions. Once again I express my gratitude to reviewers who must have done much to contribute to its success. Fortunately most of them were aware of the limit of human capacity and of the difficulty of collecting material. With the assistance of my clinical colleague, Dr. Hugh Dunlop, I have been able to extend the scale to many points hitherto omitted. Many chapters have also been remodelled. This has necessitated a slight increase in size, but makes the book much more complete. The book was originally intended for practitioners and this end is still kept in view, but it appears t h a t the book has had an appeal to teachers and to students preparing for higher examinations. I trust, however, that in the years to come it will help to impress those responsible for medical curricula t h a t there exists a science of Symptomatology as clearly defined and as valuable as its sister sciences Pharmacology and Pathology in its present accepted sense. I t may be remarked t h a t the word " symptom," although commonly used in a subjective sense, may from its derivation be held to include objective signs. I n its preparation the book owes much to the publishers, who have done all possible to assist me. I n addition to those men­ tioned in previous editions, the following have been good enough to give me much advice and help : Dr. C. R. Boland, Professor Clarke Kennedy, Dr. J. W. Linnell, Dr. W. Robson, and Professor 0 . de Wesselow. To those I owe my best thanks. The Table on p. 110 is reprinted from Dr. Traquair's paper on " Fields of Vision in Intracranial Lesions " (British Medical Journal, August 5th, 1933, p. 230) with permission. EXTRACT FROM PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION I N addition to those previously thanked, I am specially grateful in this respect to Sir Farquhar Buzzard, Professor Stanley Davidson, Dr. Geoffrey Evans, Professor Gulland, Professor Hay, Dr. A. F . Hurst and Dr. K. D. Wilkinson. Many others, espe­ cially Dr. A. E. Barclay, Professor Morison, and Dr. H. T. Flint, have answered specific questions on special points. I t has, unfortunately, not been possible for me to incorporate the views of all because of consideration of space and of the debatable nature of some of the points. I should, however, like to take this opportunity of asking readers not to hesitate t a draw my attention to matters which they think ought to be inserted, for it is obviously impossible for any single person to have a full knowledge of modern Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, and Physiology. I t should perhaps be said t h a t the book is not intended to give every disease in which any symptom occurs, but rather to give examples of diseases in relation to symptom production. vi PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION SOME years ago it was my fortune to take an active part in the teaching of clinical medicine, and during t h a t period it was f