cranial nerve testing can raise “red flags” that suggest specific neurologic dysfunction rather than a systemic disorder. For example, many medical conditions cause lethargy, unsteadiness, headaches, or dizziness. However, any of these symptoms together with cranial nerve abnormalities strongly suggests brainstem dysfunction as the cause.

Albert Camus,
By Henri Cartier-Bresson

Camus, having a staring contest with the absurd

*me, after 4 seasons of Better call Saul*:

Vince Gilligan is Dostoevsky but for TV

Also I loved the way he wrote Charles Mcgill. It's just brilliant.
Chuck represents the greatest danger of intelligence: Rationalization. Because if you're smart enough, you can come up with a rational explanation for almost anything, and twist reality however you like. And people are gonna believe it too (just remember how ppl used to turn off lights and hand out their phones whenever Chuck is around, and indulge in his imaginary "disease").

A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery,
By Joseph Wright of Derby

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump,
By Joseph Wright of Derby

Irwin Braverman:

Once upon a time in a distant med school...

Urinalysis, done traditionally

The brilliant neuro exam

That shy doctor

So, if the physical exam was developed because the good ol' doctors didn't have the same advanced tools and technologies that we have now, then what's the point of teaching the physical exam today?

More commonly, the physical exam can provide not a diagnosis but an essential clue to direct further testing—a shortcut to the right answer. Ordering a slew of studies to evaluate a patient might get you the answer eventually, but time is often short in the care of a very sick patient. In many cases a careful exam can focus the search and help the physician find the problem faster. Where such an advantage would be most helpful, naturally, is among those patients who are critically ill. But even here—maybe especially here—the physical exam is becoming as obsolete as the doctor’s black bag.
The sicker the patient, the greater the temptation to skip the fundamentals—like the physical examination—and to rely on the available technology to provide us with answers. It’s a temptation that can sometimes prove fatal

- Every patient tells a story