Ethical dilemmas. The new is old.

There are no predictable external cues to ethical dilemmas, therefore, physicians must develop internal sensitivity to these issues. Because there is only a finite number of ethical problems, these recur with predictable frequency. The current essay reviews three books from the literature that present ethical difficulties that were unrecognized until the consequences were obvious. By considering these, and their parallels today, present physicians may avoid the ethical mistakes of their predecessors.