Inadequacy of the Medical History in the Diagnosis of Duodenal Ulcer

SINCE 1910, when Moynihan¹ clearly described the clinical features of duodenal ulcer, there has been general agreement that the history is all important in diagnosis. Indeed, in the presence of a history of periodic epigastric pain occurring in the early hours of the morning and relieved by milk or food, the clinical diagnosis of duodenal ulcer is frequently confirmed by radiologic or surgical examination. It is equally important, however, to know how frequently the medical history will fail to reveal the presence of duodenal ulcer. It is the purpose of this paper to show that a third or more of . . .