diagnosis

diagnosis definition - medical

di·ag·no·sis (dīˌəg-nōˈsĭs)

noun pl. di·ag·no·ses (-sēz) Abbr. dx
  1. The act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation of patient history, examination, and review of laboratory data.
  2. The opinion derived from such an evaluation.
  3. A brief description of the distinguishing characteristics of an organism, as for taxonomic classification.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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