ABSTRACT
The phrase 'medical humanities' has a currency that is perhaps wider than any agreement as to what it means. Even so, those engaged in medical humanities usually know what they are attempting. The idea of a symptom is important for understanding the structure of clinical practice. The first drops of rain are the symptoms – the growing awareness that something is not right, that something unwanted and unbidden is happening, something that is unwanted in itself and also unwanted because of what it might lead to. Scientific medicine describes the material substances of health and illness, but the reason why patients consult their doctors is generally because something is amiss in their experiences of daily living. Inflammation is significant to patients not in itself but because of the felt soreness, stiffness or visible disfigurement that it produces.
