The components of a medical history may vary slightly, but most medical histories contain specific information under specific headings. Information on the health of the patient can be arbitrarily divided into objective and subjective information. The objective information consists of an account of the patient’s past medical history, as well as information gained by physical and supplementary examination procedures (ie, signs).
The subjective information (ie, symptoms) is a report of the patient’s own sensory experience but can also be secondhand, as in the case of children or others unable to communicate for themselves. This secondhand information is often used to confirm and supplement a patient’s description of his or her complaint.