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{{Short description|Medical principle that a patient's symptoms could be caused by several diseases}} |
{{Short description|Medical principle that a patient's symptoms could be caused by several diseases}} |
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'''Hickam's dictum''' is a counterargument to the use of [[Occam's razor]] in the medical profession.<ref>See, e.g., "Hickam's Dictum versus Occam's Razor: A Case for Occam." W. Bradley Fields, MD, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI (2005) ([http://www.hospitalmedicine.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=5342#Clinical_Vignettes] )</ref> While Occam's razor suggests that the simplest explanation is the most likely, implying in medicine that diagnosticians should assume a single cause for multiple symptoms, one form of Hickam's dictum states: "A man can have as many diseases as he damn well pleases."<ref name="auto">Wallace T. Miller, [http://www.seminarsinroentgenology.com/article/S0037-198X(98)80001-1/pdf "Letter From the Editor: Occam Versus Hickam"], ''Seminars in Roentenology'', vol. 33 (3), 1998-07, page 213, attributed to "an apocryphal physician named Hickam"</ref> The principle is attributed to an apocryphal physician named Hickam,<ref name="auto"/> possibly John |
'''Hickam's dictum''' is a counterargument to the use of [[Occam's razor]] in the medical profession.<ref>See, e.g., "Hickam's Dictum versus Occam's Razor: A Case for Occam." W. Bradley Fields, MD, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI (2005) ([http://www.hospitalmedicine.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=5342#Clinical_Vignettes] )</ref> While Occam's razor suggests that the simplest explanation is the most likely, implying in medicine that diagnosticians should assume a single cause for multiple symptoms, one form of Hickam's dictum states: "A man can have as many diseases as he damn well pleases."<ref name="auto">Wallace T. Miller, [http://www.seminarsinroentgenology.com/article/S0037-198X(98)80001-1/pdf "Letter From the Editor: Occam Versus Hickam"], ''Seminars in Roentenology'', vol. 33 (3), 1998-07, page 213, attributed to "an apocryphal physician named Hickam"</ref> The principle is attributed to an apocryphal physician named Hickam,<ref name="auto"/> possibly John Bamber Hickam, MD.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mani |first1=Navin |last2=Slevin |first2=Nick |last3=Hudson |first3=Andrew |title=What Three Wise Men have to say about diagnosis |journal=The BMJ |date=20 December 2011 |volume=343 |page=2 |doi=10.1136/bmj.d7769|pmid=22187188 |s2cid=20673955 }}</ref> When he began saying this is uncertain. In 1946, he was a housestaff member in medicine at [[Grady Memorial Hospital]] in Atlanta. Hickam was a faculty member at [[Duke University]] in the 1950s, and was later chairman of medicine at [[Indiana University]] from 1958 to 1970.<ref>Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology: September 2002 - Volume 22 - Issue 3 - pp 240-246 ([http://www.jneuro-ophthalmology.com/pt/re/jneuroophth/fulltext.00041327-200209000-00009.htm] )</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 23:29, 10 November 2023
Hickam's dictum is a counterargument to the use of Occam's razor in the medical profession.[1] While Occam's razor suggests that the simplest explanation is the most likely, implying in medicine that diagnosticians should assume a single cause for multiple symptoms, one form of Hickam's dictum states: "A man can have as many diseases as he damn well pleases."[2] The principle is attributed to an apocryphal physician named Hickam,[2] possibly John Bamber Hickam, MD.[3] When he began saying this is uncertain. In 1946, he was a housestaff member in medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Hickam was a faculty member at Duke University in the 1950s, and was later chairman of medicine at Indiana University from 1958 to 1970.[4]
See also
References
- ^ See, e.g., "Hickam's Dictum versus Occam's Razor: A Case for Occam." W. Bradley Fields, MD, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI (2005) ([1] )
- ^ a b Wallace T. Miller, "Letter From the Editor: Occam Versus Hickam", Seminars in Roentenology, vol. 33 (3), 1998-07, page 213, attributed to "an apocryphal physician named Hickam"
- ^ Mani, Navin; Slevin, Nick; Hudson, Andrew (20 December 2011). "What Three Wise Men have to say about diagnosis". The BMJ. 343: 2. doi:10.1136/bmj.d7769. PMID 22187188. S2CID 20673955.
- ^ Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology: September 2002 - Volume 22 - Issue 3 - pp 240-246 ([2] )
