Lumps, bumps and diagnostic stumps.

British Journal of General Practice, December 2013 663 IntroduCtIon Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate (plurality ought never be posed without necessity), proposed William of Ockham (Occam) in the early 14th century. Commonly known as ‘Occam’s razor’, this principle asserts that a single unifying diagnosis is more likely to explain multiple simultaneous presenting symptoms than several different diagnoses.1 In primary care, patients frequently present with multiple symptoms. This case report follows a patient who presented to different GPs within our practice with various symptoms, that were subsequently explained by one unifying diagnosis.