" Well, two seemingly interchangeable words, symptoms and signs, provide much of the answer. A symptom is any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease. By definition a symptom is communicated directly to a doctor. A sign is something that suggests the presence or existence of a fact, condition, or quality. A sign is a clinical finding we touch, hear, see, smell, and occasionally, inadvertently, taste. This distinction may not sound like much, but it is everything. "

― Nick Trout , Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope in My Life As an Animal Surgeon