In acute diseases the physician must conduct his inquiries…
“In acute diseases the physician must conduct his inquiries in the following way. First he must examine the face of the patient, and see whether it is like the faces of healthy people, and especially whether it is like its usual self. Such likeness will be the best sign, and the greatest unlikeness will be the most dangerous sign. The latter will be as follows. Nose sharp, eyes hollow, temples sunken, ears cold and contracted with their lobes turned outwards, the skin about the face hard and tense and parched, the colour of the face as a whole being yellow or black.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Physicians should assess a patient’s facial appearance for signs of health or danger, noting specific features that indicate severity.
In simple terms: Check a patient’s face for health clues.
Key Takeaway
Observe facial signs to gauge illness severity.
Themes
diagnosis
observation
medicine
Mood
cautious
analytical
Type
clinical
historical
When to use this quote
- emergency rooms
- home visits
- triage
- medical training
Key Concepts
Hippocratic medicine
clinical assessment
Questions to Reflect On
- How reliable are facial cues alone?
- What other signs should complement this assessment?
A Different Perspective
Facial signs can be misleading without other tests.