Most GPs of a certain vintage would have heard the old adage “if you don’t put your finger in, you put your foot in.”

It refers of course to the digital rectal examination and its importance as part of a thorough physical examination especially when symptoms indicate some potential pathology in that area.

However it would be fair to say that most doctors, let alone patients are not particularly enthusiastic about this particular test. Indeed you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief when the authoritative guidelines suggested regular DRE was not useful as a means of screening for prostate cancer.