This book provides a novel method to teach eponymically named physical signs of the alimentary tract and intrabdominal organs. The focus is on the historical aspect of the named signs, how to perform the sign described by the author, and the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in eliciting a positive test. The goal is to guide the reader to appreciate how these bedside signs provide a more profound understanding of the mechanism of disease. By doing so, they become more than simply rote m...

This book proposes a novel learning approach that complements and augments the prevailing method of case-based learning. Learning these signs requires the application and integration of the fundamental skills of observation, palpation, percussion, and auscultation, and in more advanced cases, the use of maneuvers performed at the patient’s bedside. The book provides a discussion of the utility of the signs and reviews the mechanism and pathophysiology of related cardiovascular diseases. Ea...