# Crossword puzzle in medical record/report?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossword-puzzle-in-medical-record-report/1012214>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 27, 2024, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossword-puzzle-in-medical-record-report/1012214 "2024-12-27T04:05:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossword-puzzle-in-medical-record-report/1012214/1 "2024-12-27T04:05:22Z")

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Watching an episode of Elementary. Watson had a stack of records regarding another Doctors cases. As she was shredding them I noticed two had what looked like a filled in small crossword puzzle. Only about a ten by ten grid.  
Is this a thing in a medical record of some sort? Elementary takes place in New York city. Maybe singular to the state.  
Maybe this is in the wrong category, but it may be a fact. Interested to what the puzzle scheme is used for.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossword-puzzle-in-medical-record-report/1012214/2 "2024-12-27T15:42:04Z")

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I would assume that the doctor (or the props manager) was just doing actual crossword puzzles in their spare time, and a couple of them ended up in the stack with their actual paperwork.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossword-puzzle-in-medical-record-report/1012214/3 "2024-12-27T16:36:16Z")

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Sometimes doctors draw a diagram of symptoms and test results that can take different forms. It’s usually something much smaller than a 10x10 grid though, and likely to be irregular.

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**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossword-puzzle-in-medical-record-report/1012214/4 "2024-12-27T19:31:02Z")

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Back when physician progress notes were written on paper, it was standard (at least where I worked) to include a little diagram of common lab results. It took the form of an extended H (certainly not 10x10), and each field was in reference to a specific lab (for example, the top left field was sodium, below that chloride, etc.)

mmm

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**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossword-puzzle-in-medical-record-report/1012214/5 "2024-12-28T06:37:42Z")

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It is a grid. It looked like a crossword due to random very dark colour of some cells.  
Down the left side is printed words. Then across were cells with x’s and other things. I guess to check off test results and other things. As Mean\_Mr.Mustard noted. But not an H shape.  
May still be just a fake thing that the prop folks thought up. But not a slip up.