Book excerpt: This issue of Medical Clinics of North America, guest edited by Dr. Lia Logio, is devoted to Common Symptoms in Outpatient Practice. Articles in this issue include: Evaluating and managing the patient with back pain, Update on Indigestion, Approach to the patient with a cough, Diagnosis and Management of Headaches, Current Approach to Constipation, Managing the Forgetful Patient: Best Practice for Cognitive Impairment, Evidence-based Approach to Palpitations, Solving the Problem of Insomnia: Current Practice, Approach to Knee Pain: Diagnosis and Treatment, Approach to Fatigue: Best Practice, Best Practices in the Management of Overweight and Obesity, Best Practice in Approaching Patients with Weight Loss, Common Complaints of the Hands and Feet, A Symptom-Directed Paradigm for the Evaluation and Management of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, and more.