I'm looking for a "common" Latin phrase that might not be so common as
I was led to believe. It was said to me by a doctor several months
back, but when I asked him about it later, he was unable to give the
the exact wording.

In short, it means something like: "the proof of a thing is in its
very existence" or "the fact that a certain condition exists is
explanation enough for its existence."

I believe it had the word "ipso" in it (and it's not "ipso facto") and
perhaps the word for seeing. It was three or possibly four words long.
I'm not looking for a new phrase, but one that actually is in use by
some circle of people (lawyers, scientists, doctors, etc.).

Hello.

I believe that the phrase that you're thinking of is "res ipsa
loquitur" ("the thing speaks for itself").

ONE L LAW SOURCE:
"res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself) – operates as a type
of circumstantial evidence, facts or circumstances proved or known,
from which existence or nonexistence or another fact may be logically
inferred or deduced through a rational process."
http://home.pon.net/jmt/law/OneL/torts/cvu.htm

"Res ipsa loquitur" means "the thing speaks for itself" -- (law of
torts) descriptive of facts so self-evident as to make a prima facie
case.
From abacus contract management
http://www.abacuscm.com/glossary/r.html

Latin Abbreviations & Terms
http://www.control-z.com/pages/latin.html

search strategy: res ipsa loquitur

I hope this helps.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 05 Feb 2003 00:10 PST

Interestingly, the "res ipsa loquitur" phrase became popular in the
legal world as a result of the 1863 case of Byrne v. Boadle. In that
case, the plaintiff sued for negligence after he was injured as a
result of a barrel of flour falling from a window. The plaintiff's
attorney suggested the barrel falling from the window was itself proof
that someone must have been negligent. In other words, the proof of
the negligence was in the very existence of the falling barrel. The
thing spoke for itself.
See the Gaddis Annotations:
http://www.williamgaddis.org/frolic/frolicnotes1.shtml

This researcher had the right answer very quickly. Thank you.