| # | Episode Title | Original Air Date | Primary Medical Case | Patient’s Secret / Twist | |---|----------------|-------------------|----------------------|--------------------------| | 1 | Pilot | Nov 16, 2004 | Teacher with seizures & psychosis | Tapeworm (neurocysticercosis) | | 2 | Paternity | Nov 23, 2004 | Teen athlete with double vision & nightmares | Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (measles virus) | | 3 | Occam’s Razor | Nov 30, 2004 | Young man with respiratory failure | Common cold + undiagnosed immune deficiency | | 4 | Maternity | Dec 7, 2004 | Newborns dying in hospital nursery | Echovirus 11 | | 5 | Damned If You Do | Dec 14, 2004 | Nun with rash & allergic reaction | Copper toxicity from IUD | | 6 | The Socratic Method | Dec 21, 2004 | Homeless schizophrenic woman with leg pain | Vitamin K deficiency + Wilson’s disease | | 7 | Fidelity | Dec 28, 2004 | Woman with sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis) | Husband’s infidelity (transmitted via bite) | | 8 | Poison | Jan 25, 2005 | Teen with acute poisoning symptoms | Organophosphate poisoning (from jeans) | | 9 | DNR | Feb 1, 2005 | Jazz musician with paralysis (AVM) | Misdiagnosed; wants DNR but treatable | | 10| Histories | Feb 8, 2005 | Homeless woman with rabies | Rabies (from bat bite) | | 11| Detox | Feb 15, 2005 | Teen with liver failure & hallucinations | Naphthalene poisoning (mothballs) | | 12| Sports Medicine | Feb 22, 2005 | Baseball pitcher with bone pain | Heavy metal poisoning (from Ayurvedic meds) | | 13| Cursed | Mar 1, 2005 | Teen with possible leprosy | Leptospirosis + family secret | | 14| Control | Mar 15, 2005 | High-powered CEO with paralysis | Bulimia-induced heart failure (ipecac) | | 15| Mob Rules | Mar 22, 2005 | Mobster with hepatitis | Cobalt poisoning (from hip replacement) | | 16| Heavy | Mar 29, 2005 | Obese 10-year-old with heart issues | Cushing’s disease (adrenal tumor) | | 17| Role Model | Apr 12, 2005 | Senator with AIDS | HIV + Toxoplasmosis (closeted gay man) | | 18| Babies & Bathwater | Apr 19, 2005 | Pregnant woman with seizures | Small cell lung cancer (paraneoplastic) | | 19| Kids | May 3, 2005 | 9-year-old dancer with paralysis | Kawasaki disease + aneurysm | | 20| Love Hurts | May 10, 2005 | Man with stroke-like symptoms | Brain abscess + past secret (former neo-Nazi) | | 21| Three Stories (Flashback) | May 17, 2005 | Three patients (including House’s leg) | House’s own infarction misdiagnosed | | 22| Honeymoon | May 24, 2005 | Stacy’s husband Mark with paralysis | Acute intermittent porphyria |

While House is the sun around which the show orbits, Season 1 meticulously indexes the evolution of his team—colloquially known as the "Cottages" or "Ducklings." The trio of Foreman, Cameron, and Chase represents different facets of the medical field and reactions to House’s methodology.

To index House M.D. Season 1 is to catalog the construction of a television phenomenon. It was a season that took the risk of centering a show on an anti-hero before the "Golden Age of Television" fully embraced the concept. It established a procedural formula that survived for eight seasons, built a chemistry between actors that defined the show’s heart, and successfully translated Victorian detective fiction into modern medical drama.

The legacy of Season 1 is found in its consistency. While future seasons would delve into police chases, asylum stays, and romantic complexities, the index of Season 1 remains the purest execution of the show’s premise: everybody lies, but the puzzle always reveals the truth.