This volume of physical diagnosis is, as stated in the title, limited to the "surgical patient." The information is, however, nonetheless valuable for all those concerned with differential diagnosis. For the authors, in a logical informal manner, weave the little-known procedures of diagnosis with familiar methods into a composite and then discuss the important differential considerations in terms of the physical findings. Though the book is one of procedures, methods, and signs, the authors have included with rare facility useful details, valuable classifications, and significant commentaries.
The book is divided into two portions, the examination of the acutely or chronically ill patient and the emergency examination of the desperately ill. The "elective" examination studies the patient in the classical order but with the forementioned considerations. Special comment is made of the study of the postoperative patient with emphasis on the postoperative chest or abdomen. Valuable commentaries are also made about