Symptom Versus Sign
A symptom can more simply be defined as any feature which is noticed by the patient. A sign is noticed by other people. It is not necessarily the nature of the sign or symptom which defines it, but who observes it.
A feature might be a sign or a symptom, or both, depending on the observer(s). For example, a skin rash may be noticed by either a healthcare professional as a sign, or by the patient as a symptom. When it is noticed by both, then the feature is both a sign and a symptom.
Some features, such as pain, can only be symptoms, because they cannot be directly observed by other people. Other features can only be signs, such as a blood cell count measured in a medical laboratory.
Read more about this topic: Symptom
Famous quotes containing the words symptom and/or sign:
“The habit of common and continuous speech is a symptom of mental deficiency. It proceeds from not knowing what is going on in other people’s minds.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“One cat in a house is a sign of loneliness, two of barrenness, and three of sodomy.”
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–1977)