Medical Heuristics

Letters1 July 1996Medical HeuristicsDonald A. Gerber, MDDonald A. Gerber, MDState University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY 11203Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-125-1-199607010-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Dr. McDonald [1] mentions that Sutton's Law is “named after the famous bank robber who explained that he robbed banks because ‘that's where the money is.’” He then interprets the Law by saying it “reminds us to try a common diagnosis to explain symptoms before resorting to an uncommon one, because the statistics favor such bets.” This interpretation of Sutton's Law is overly broad. The principle was first enunciated by William Dock to support his recommendation to the house-staff that a patient he thought might have schistosomiasis should have a liver biopsy [2]. Thus, in the strictest ...References1. McDonald CJ. Medical heuristics: the silent adjudicators of clinical practice. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 124:56-62. Google Scholar2. Rytand DA. Sutton's or Dock's Law? [Letter] N Engl J Med. 1980; 302:972. Google Scholar3. Petersdorf RG, Beeson PB. Fever of unexplained origin: report on 100 cases. Medicine (Baltimore). 1961; 40:1-30. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY 11203 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoMedical Heuristics: The Silent Adjudicators of Clinical Practice Clement J. McDonald Medical Heuristics: The Silent Adjudicators of Clinical Practice Clement J. McDonald Medical Heuristics William J. Oetgen Metrics Cited ByCavitation-jet deinking: A new technology for deinking of recovered paperEffects of ultrasonic wave pretreatment on the fibrillation of cellulose fiber 1 July 1996Volume 125, Issue 1Page: 78KeywordsBiopsyFearLiverPathologistsSchistosomiasis Issue Published: 1 July 1996 CopyrightCopyright © 1996 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...