Abstract
Examination of the hands has the potential to transform the encounter between physician and patient. Taking the hands conveys a sense of warmth and connectedness and is a means to communicate the physician’s mindfulness. The hands can focus the examination on the individual patient as a complete human being, and not merely a disease or a collection of symptoms. The hands provide readily accessible information that may not be available through other evaluations, and they offer clues to a patient’s physical and mental health. Commonplace observations, such as those revealed in the hands, can unravel medical mysteries and provide profound clinical insights.
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Received from Lown Cardiovascular Center and Harvard Medical School
This work was supported by a grant from Bay State Federal Savings Bank and The Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation, 21 Longwood Ave., Brookline, Mass.
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Bedell, S.E., Graboys, T.B. Hand to hand. J GEN INTERN MED 17, 654–656 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.11054.x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.11054.x