FEATURED BOOKS ON SYMPTOMS FROM BARNES & NOBLE.COM:

Symptom
An indication of a disease or a change in condition that is reported by the patient but is not observed by others. An example of a symptom would be an itching sensation. Compare a symptom to a sign, which is clear evidence of disease that can be measured or seen (unlike a symptom), such as a rash.

Some symptoms can be confirmed by examination. For example, a doctor would be able to confirm a patient's complaint of not being able to feel anything in his/her hand, by not observing a response to something painful placed on that hand. A primary symptom is one that is an essential part of the disease, such as itching during chicken pox. A secondary symptom is one that is a result of the disease, but not part of the disease, such as feeling depressed because of having chicken pox. The symptoms that cause a person to seek medical help are known as presenting symptoms. However, presenting symptoms are not always the first to appear.

Syndromes are a group of symptoms and signs that occur together and have a common cause, representing a certain disease or inherited (passed on from the parents' biological makeup) abnormality. Symptom comes from the Greek word "symptoma" meaning "that which happens."

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