posted
I've got a blank line in my manuscript and it's driving me nuts. Maybe someone here has a medical background and can help.
If a person has certain symptoms and others are being compared to that person and his symptoms, what word would fit in a sentence like: <None of the other patients matched Tom's ??????> I don't want 'symptoms' again, and the word I'm looking for is not 'diagnosis,' because no one really knows what Tom has. I'm looking for a word, maybe a phrase but I think it's a word, that designates how Tom presents medically.
posted
No medical background, I'm afraid, but I can suggest something: "None of the other patients displayed the same signs as Tom."
Posts: 121 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
I believe Eric's "symptomology" is correct, it has the right ring, although I don't have any medical background either. Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
"Symptomology" is a useful word, though it can sound awkward. Don't use "prognosis"--someone's prognosis is how they're expected to do (e.g. will they get well?), not the set of symptoms.
"None of the other cases currently on the ward had the same profile as Tom." is one option.
You could also say something along the lines of "Tom's case appeared to be unique. Although Dick and Harry were both running similarly high fevers, neither had the blue spots or the powerful halitosis."
(My background is biochemistry, so I've read plenty of medical material.)
posted
Another thought...depending on the finer points of what you're trying to say, I came up with a couple of ways to phrase it.
If you want to stick with strict observation, discussing "symptomology" or the "profile of the case", or discussing it in terms of specific symptoms (which I'm sure you mention elsewhere) is probably best. If you don't mind having your POV draw a bit of a conclusion (which may or may not be valid), you could also say "None of the other patients seemed to be suffering from the same illness as Tom" or "Based on current observations, Tom's condition did not match that of the other patients."
The distinction between strict observation and drawing a conclusion is sometimes a fine point, but it can be a very important one. You can end up with very different effects based on which you choose. Also, it really matters in medicine, and you need to consider it in the context of the scene. There are times when drawing a conclusion is appropriate, and times when it isn't.
(I'm sure the majority of people reading this understand, but unfortunately the general public often doesn't. Having taught labs, I can tell you that most college students are pretty fuzzy on the distinction, even when they're supposed to be focusing on it! You can use that to your advantage, though, depending on the effect you want to achieve. It can be a useful device, for example, when planting a clue in a mystery.)
posted
Thanks, all, for your comments. It was a valiant effort. Apparently, I'll have to write around the concept, but I am almost positive there's a succinct word that fits. But, I've just started this book, so I have lots of time to mull it around. Thanks again.
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
Perhaps you want to avoid using symptoms again for a valid reason, perhaps not.
But consider what you are trying to say before you agonize over how to say it. Are you trying to say none of the other patients displayed the same symptoms as Tom? None of the other patients displayed the same symptoms as Tom? None of the other patients displayed the same symptoms as Tom? (Heh heh, try setting that one in a mental ward ) None of the other patients displayed the same symptoms as Tom?
Right now your probably wondering what I'm talking about, so I'll say it outright. Which word is the novel element that you are emphasizing with this statement? Maybe there's more than one, that's perfectly all right. Perhaps all the patients (and only they) were exposed to a pathogenic environment, but Tom's the only patient showing certain symptoms that have also been observed in people that weren't exposed to the pathogen. In that case, you're suggesting that Tom's symptoms have nothing to do with the exposure to the pathogen. Perhaps all the other patients got sick after Tom, so they apparently aren't in the same stage of illness. Or you might be saying that Tom's combination of indications is so truly unique that there are no matches when you look at the data for all patients in known medical history.
These possibilities are all quite distinct, and I have no idea which is closer to your intent, or whether they are all wrong together.
quote:Or you might be saying that Tom's combination of indications is so truly unique that there are no matches when you look at the data for all patients in known medical history.
That's closer to the situation, and yes, I can write around it by a judicious use of 'symptoms' and 'condition,' but it bugs me because there is some word that is stuck in the back of my mind....maybe someday, when I least expect it.... Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
May I suggest that you ask your doctor? Or call the advice nurse at your HMO? Or...
I was just working on a short story about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and did a web search on OCD. I found a doctor who was willing to look over my story for accuracy. I think that this doctor got excited about helping "a writer".
There's also a site called http://www.onelook.com that has a reverse look-up feature. You describe a concept and it gives you word choices that are related.
[This message has been edited by MaryRobinette (edited May 08, 2004).]
posted
A lot of refs. on Google to "symptom set" or "set of symptoms" used in this manner. I feel as well that there would/should be a more PROPER term, but many doctors use this lay-seeming terminology.
Posts: 12 | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
Hey! I sat next to a doctor on the airplane yesterday and asked him. He said it sounded like "signs" and that the sentence would be something like "He had a set of signs inconsitent with known epidemiology."
Of course, I didn't have your post so was speaking from memory without a clear idea of the context, but it opened a nice airplane conversation.
posted
Kolona, you might want a term more from data analysis than medicine. Perhaps you should talk to a statistician. Your character is probably talking about a bunch of numbers: body temperature, blood pressure, white cell count, respiration rate, etc. There are many ways to express this.
"Tom's readings don't correlate with any of the others."
"The other patients' data show a consistant pattern, Tom's pattern is different."
"Tom's data appears anomolous."
"Tom's readings are inconsistant with the established pattern."
"The population of patients is distrubuted in a nice, normal bell curve. All but Tom. Tom's data is (are) about four standard deviations out!"
[This message has been edited by Doc Brown (edited May 11, 2004).]
posted
Mary, you're a sweetheart for asking your seatmate about my search while in flight. Actually, if I were superstitious, I'd say your sitting next to a doctor was a 'sign.'
Doc, I think you've put me onto something. Thanks.
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) None of the other patients displayed the same symptoms as Tom?
