Publisher's Synopsis
This is an introduction to logical structure specifically as it relates to clinical medicine. Doctors use logic every day in clinical medicine, but many have had no formal training in the field. This book solves that problem. Symbolic logic uses symbols to create logical structures. In clinical medicine, doctors transform signs of disease into symbols which are related to each other to describe disease activity. This gives physicians the power to conceptualize disease, design treatments for disease, and monitor disease activity. The fabric of contemporary clinical medicine is woven by the application of symbolic logic to the analysis of disease. Symbolic logic lays the foundation for a science of clinical medicine. This book explores the function of signs, what happens when signs of disease are treated as symbols, and how the creation of functional relationships between signs of disease leads to the classification of diseases. This leads to the concept of the diagnosis - which is the basis for effective treatment. The logical structure of differential diagnoses is explained. This kind of understanding is invaluable to the medical student and essential for the astute clinician. By mastering the ideas presented here the physician, and other individuals involved in health care, will gain the tools necessary to promote clear and coherent thought in clinical medicine.
