Propaedeutics or propedeutics is a historical term for an introductory course into a discipline, that is an art, or science. The etymology of propedeutics comprises: the Latin prefix pro- meaning earlier, rudimentary, or in front of + the Greek: paideutikós which means "pertaining to teaching". As implied by the etymology, propaedeutics may be defined as more particularly as the knowledge necessary before, or for the learning a discipline, but not which is not sufficient for proficiency.[1]
In dentistry, the terms "propedeutics"/"propedeutic" specifically refers to preliminary collection of data about patient by observation, palpation, temperature measurement, etc., without specialized diagnostic procedures.