Zebra is a medical slang term for an obscure and unlikely diagnosis from ordinary symptoms.

It derives from the aphorism "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras",^[1] which was probably coined by Dr. Theodore Woodward, a former professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Medicine.^{[citation needed]}

A similar term for an obscure and rare diagnosis in medicine is fascinoma.

[edit] Other medical aphorisms

• Sutton's law - perform first the diagnostic test expected to be most useful
• Occam's razor - multiple causes should not be posited without reason
• Leonard's Law of Physical Findings - it's obvious or it's not there^[2]
• KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid
• Hickam's dictum - "Patients can have as many diseases as they damn well please"

[edit] Uses

• The House of God - a novel about medical internship.
• Dr. Gregory House on House
• Dr. Cox on Scrubs

[edit] References

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