The psychological factors in the aetiology of certain skin diseases.

Abstract

of integration that we have only noticed, so far, a few of the obvious highlights in these patterns of association. Yet they must run through the whole field of medicine, not distantly linked in .some vague and ill-defined way, but indissoluble, like the two sides of a coin. We have suffered mucli m the past from a tendency to oversimplify the problem of psychosomatic medicine. This has encouraged us to overlook and ignore connections and associations which could not be related to some easily understood mechanism, preferably nervous. We need courage to take the facts of observation gleaned at the psychological level and to lay them l)oldly alongside the dermatologists' facts. Avoiding preconceived theories, we may then begin to see how personality patterns and physical idiosyncrasies are different aspects of an organic integrated whole. Already we have begun this process of correlation. The eczemaprurigo syndrome affords a good example. Here the collaboration between physician and psychiatrist has been particularly fruitful. It may be that fresh light may be shed upon both our fields if we can gain a fuller grasp of the biological determinants, endocrine, nervous, or whatever they may be, of this interesting eczemaprurigo personality.