The fifth edition of DeGowin and DeGowin's Bedside Diagnostic Examination is an improvement over an already exceptional book with an excellent track record.
One thousand plus pages are separated into three sections. The largest of the sections, "Part I: Symptoms and Signs," is 852 pages of well-written, detailed clinical descriptions of basically every symptom or sign that a clinician in any specialty might encounter in evaluating his patients. Part II is a brief introduction to laboratory data, including normal values and reasons for common abnormalities. Part III is an alphabetized list of selected diseases indicating in one sentence the definition of the disease, followed by common symptoms, signs, and laboratory results.
The book is illustrated with hand drawings by the late Dr Elmer L. DeGowin (the same endearing illustrations that graced the previous editions of the book). Although they are clearly not the work of a professional artist, each depicts