The international call to practice evidence-based medicine was first published in JAMA as part of the “Rational Clinical Examination Series”.¹ Almost 10 years and a World Wide Web later, we now have McGee's book Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis. The book's intent is “to explore the origins, pathophysiology, and diagnostic accuracy of many of the physical signs used today in adult patients.” The book presents an amalgam of expert opinion and peer-reviewed evidence for what appears to be a serendipitous collage of various topics on the clinical examination. Because the current state of knowledge about the clinical examination lacks the breadth of well-done trials found in treatment research and therefore results in this eclectic mix, few individuals have the temerity to take on such a project by themselves.

McGee S.Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis. Philadelphia: Saunders, …