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Diagnosis: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Medical Mysteries by Lisa Sanders (view source)
Revision as of 11:32, 15 April 2018
, 11:32, 15 April 2018no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Diagnosis: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Medical Mysteries
|author=Lisa Sanders
|date=June 2010
|isbn=978-1848311336
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>1848311338</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=1848311338|aznus=<amazonus>0767922468</amazonus>
}}
Fans of ‘’House''House, M.D.’’ '' may recognise the name of Lisa Sanders. She’s the technical advisor to the TV show as well as being the writer of the ‘’Diagnosis’’ ''Diagnosis'' column in the New York Times. Many of the stories which appear in the column are recounted in this book, which is a look at the way in which doctors reach a diagnosis and how the method has changed (or not) over the years. I’m not a fan of the hospital dramas which seem to be a major feature of the TV schedules, but I was fascinated by what is, essentially, a series of medical detective stories.
It’s easy to think that if you go long to see your doctor you should be able to depart with a diagnosis of what’s wrong and a plan for the cure, or, at worst, management of the problem. Developments in medicine such as x-rays and blood analysis have supported this view but an ever-expanding range of illnesses and diseases have made the task of diagnosis ever more complicated, as has wider travel by the patient. Ultimately, too, the diagnosis has to be made by a human being – with all their ensuing limitations. It’s simply not possible for one human to have encountered all the diseases, with their variable presentations, which might appear before them.