What defines symptoms in a medical context?

In a medical context, symptoms are defined as conditions that must be described by the patient. This is because symptoms represent the subjective experiences or feelings that a patient reports, such as pain, fatigue, or nausea. These experiences cannot be directly observed or measured by a clinician, making them vital for understanding a patient's condition.

Though observable conditions and physical signs are important for diagnosis, they are classified as signs rather than symptoms. For instance, a clinician may notice a rash or elevated blood pressure, but these are signs of a condition that the patient may or may not feel. Laboratory results provide concrete data that can indicate disease but do not capture the personal experience of the patient, which is essential for a comprehensive understanding of their health. Therefore, the accurate identification of symptoms relies on the patient's narrative, making it a crucial element in the diagnostic process.