'Life would be much simpler for GPs if patients presented with diagnoses. Unfortunately, they do not: they present with symptoms, which are frequently vague, sometimes multiple and occasionally obscure. It is up to the GP to create some order from this chaos. However, the vast majority of clinical texts adopt a diagnosis, rather than symptom-based, approach.' From the Introduction Across its five editions, Symptom Sorter has excelled in redressing the balance between symptoms and diagnoses to