However, when a doctor's visit was absolutely necessary, a breaking of norms was sometimes necessary. To properly examine the patient, doctors were faced with the task of going beyond the norm of female modesty. As Cheng describes, there were four standard methods of diagnosis—looking, asking, listening and smelling and touching (for pulse-taking). To maintain some form of modesty, women would often stay hidden behind curtains and screens. The doctor was allowed to touch enough of her body to complete his examination, often just the pulse taking. This would lead to situations where the symptoms and the doctor's diagnosis did not agree and the doctor would have to ask to see more of the patient.