“What exactly is wrong with me?” Diagnostics exists so that medical professionals can answer this question definitively. It encompasses all the possible tests used to identify a disease.
This isn’t always easy and requires a systematic approach. As a general rule, the diagnostic process begins with the medical history—a kind of case assessment. During this process, the treating professionals ask about the patient’s health status point by point. This helps identify several key factors: Current symptoms, which are naturally the main focus, but also medical history, allergies and predispositions, family medical history and genetic risks, and living conditions—in short, everything the patient can explain on their own. This usually provides doctors with valuable clues right from the start.
Next, the doctor—or whoever is making the diagnosis—uses their senses: they take a close look at the patient, palpate the patient’s body, and listen to the sounds within the body using a stethoscope. In many cases, this is sufficient.
To refine or verify the diagnosis, medicine has another option: diagnostic procedures using medical devices. Anything that requires more effort than a thermometer, stethoscope, scale, and other small tools is referred to as an instrumental method. The most common instrumental diagnostic methods are laboratory tests such as blood tests—and imaging procedures, such as ultrasound and X-rays.
For common, easily recognizable conditions, doctors sometimes forgo complex methods. When the diagnosis is clear to the doctor’s trained eye, this is referred to as a presumptive diagnosis: If the doctor can identify the condition based solely on their experience, no laboratory data is needed—the diagnosis is confirmed as is.
Sometimes, however, even after the most thorough examinations, a clear diagnosis cannot be established. There can be various reasons for this—the range of possibilities is wide. In such cases, it is absolutely essential to seek a second opinion. After all, it’s a matter of health!
To clearly diagnose diseases and their causes, various diagnostic procedures are available in medicine. We’ve listed here the diagnostic methods doctors use to evaluate symptoms, identify the exact cause of a disease, or definitively confirm or rule out a disease. You’ll also find everything you need to know about each diagnostic method here.
