title: [The diagnosis artifice].
abstract: The clinical diagnosis is considered the cornerstone in the decisions making process, since it has various functions, including the executive. However, the diagnosis is not only a goal by itself, but a mean to help patients. It is not enough to identify how the disease which ails the patient is called; the diagnosis must be individualized as much as possible in each case, for the mere mention of the diagnosis can mean a wide variety of problems.
authors.affiliation: Secretario de Enseñanza Clínica e Internado Médico, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México. lifshitz@unam.mx.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lifshitz
mesh_terms: D003933:Diagnosis; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans
keywords: Clinical diagnosis; Medical education; Medical ethics; Patients