It’s hard to believe that immigrants entering the United States through EllisIsland, in the early 1900′s could be considered as unfit if they had varicose veins.  But, historical documents suggest that Doctors had only seconds to examine each passenger, checking for 60 symptoms, from anemia to varicose veins. Each person was then asked a set of 29 questions, sometimes over and over again, and by a series of different inspectors.  ’If the immigrant’s papers were in order and they were in reasonably good health, the Ellis Island inspection process would last approximately three to five hours. The inspections took place in the Registry Room (or Great Hall), where doctors would briefly scan every immigrant for obvious physical ailments. Doctors at Ellis Island soon became very adept at conducting these ”six second physicals.” By 1916, it was said that a doctor could identify numerous medical conditions (ranging from anemia to goiters to varicose veins) just by glancing at an immigrant.

source:  http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/upload/Brief-History-of-Ellis-Island.pdf