In 1912, the Guy's Hospital Assistant Physician, Dr Herbert French FRCP, published a magnum opus, An Index of Differential Diagnosis of Main Symptoms by Various Authors. This pioneering work was to formalise the paradigm of a six-chain sequence which underpins best-practice clinical medicine today. That chain comprises: taking a history, examination, compiling a differential diagnosis, tests and investigations, and formulating a diagnosis. Herbert French coined the term "differential diagnosis"; and formalised the earlier developments of Thomas Sydenham (1624 - 1689), Hermann Boerhaave (1668 - 1738) and later(1892), those of Sir William Osler in his The Principles and Practice of Medicine. French placed differential diagnosis formally as the pivot of the sequence of Oslerian medicine which distinguishes modern Western medicine from other healthcare systems. Herbert French was the Goulstonian Lecturer of the Royal College of Physicians (1907), a doctor-soldier in World War I and one of the Royal Physicians to H. M. Household. A prolific writer in the medical press, French updated and personally edited the first six editions of his Differential Diagnosis. The thirteenth edition (1996) was described as a work which "had no parallel" .This work, today in its sixteenth edition, remains "a reference unique in medical literature".

中文翻译：

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Herbert French (1875–1951) 和他的鉴别诊断是“医学文献中独一无二的参考作品”

1912 年，盖伊医院助理医师 Herbert French FRCP 博士发表了巨著，由不同作者撰写的主要症状鉴别诊断索引。这项开创性工作是将六链序列的范式正式化，该范式是当今最佳实践临床医学的基础。该链包括：询问病史、检查、编制鉴别诊断、测试和调查以及制定诊断。Herbert French 创造了“鉴别诊断”一词；并将 Thomas Sydenham (1624 - 1689)、Hermann Boerhaave (1668 - 1738) 和后来 (1892) 的早期发展形式化，威廉·奥斯勒爵士 (Sir William Osler) 在他的《医学原理与实践》(The Principles and Practice of Medicine) 中。法国将鉴别诊断正式作为 Oslerian 医学序列的关键，它将现代西方医学与其他医疗保健系统区分开来。赫伯特·弗伦奇 (Herbert French) 是皇家内科医师学院 (1907) 的古尔斯顿讲师，第一次世界大战中的一名医生士兵，也是 HM Household 的皇家内科医生之一。作为医学出版社的一位多产作家，French 更新并亲自编辑了他的《鉴别诊断》的前六版。第十三版（1996 年）被描述为“无与伦比”的作品。今天的第十六版仍然是“医学文献中独一无二的参考文献”。家庭。作为医学出版社的一位多产作家，French 更新并亲自编辑了他的《鉴别诊断》的前六版。第十三版（1996 年）被描述为“无与伦比”的作品。今天的第十六版仍然是“医学文献中独一无二的参考文献”。家庭。作为医学出版社的一位多产作家，French 更新并亲自编辑了他的《鉴别诊断》的前六版。第十三版（1996 年）被描述为“无与伦比”的作品。今天的第十六版仍然是“医学文献中独一无二的参考文献”。