This is a short list of possible diagnoses that would explain a patient’s presenting complaints and initial physical exam results. After the first visit, if the precise diagnosis is not be clearly worked out, the doctor will instead make this list of possible conditions and diseases that might fit this particular case. The job then would be, through further testing and other investigations, to eliminate the less likely causes and finally to arrive at the precise and accurate diagnosis. For example, a patient presenting with low back pain radiating into the buttock might have a differential diagnosis of a disc problem, facet joint arthritis and spinal stenosis. These causes can then be considered through a process of elimination until the accurate diagnosis is clear.