The House, M.D. episode in which House runs a classroom case exercise is titled “Three Stories.” It is the 21st episode of the first season and was first broadcast in 2005.
In the episode, House gives medical students three versions of a diagnostic case involving a patient with leg pain. The structure lets the episode move between present-day teaching and important events from House’s past, including the injury that contributed to his chronic pain and reliance on a cane.
“Three Stories” is notable for using multiple perspectives to show how medical diagnosis can be shaped by assumptions and incomplete information. The episode received major critical recognition, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for David Shore. Its title is not a reference to the hospital’s number of floors; it describes the episode’s narrative structure.