“Three Stories” is the House M.D. episode in which House gives three patient-case lectures.
The episode is the twenty-first installment of the first season and originally aired on May 17, 2005. House teaches a diagnostic medicine class while explaining three cases, using flashbacks to reveal that one of the stories is closely connected to his own medical history. The structure lets the episode explore both diagnostic reasoning and House’s character.
“Three Stories” was written by David Shore and directed by Paris Barclay. It became one of the series’ most acclaimed episodes because it departs from the usual case-of-the-week format while preserving the show’s focus on differential diagnosis. The episode also provides important context for House’s chronic leg pain and cane.
Shore won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode. The title refers to the three stories House presents, not to three separate episodes or three hospital departments.