Overview The 2003 approval by the American Board of Medical Specialties of “Psychosomatic Medicine” as a certified subspecialty of psychiatry evokes the obvious question of what this name means. Despite high-minded ideas about its referring to clinical and scientific attention…
Introduction First appearing in 1987 in an internally published collection of essays celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry, George Murray's “Limbic Music” is a rare example of the medical literature producing actual literature .…
Psychosomatic Medicine A keen interest in the relationship between the psyche and the soma has been maintained in medicine since early times, and certain ancient physicians (such as Hippocrates) have been eloquent on the subject. A search for the precise…
Key Points Consultation psychiatry encompasses the evaluation and management of affective, behavioral, and cognitive symptoms in medical and surgical patients in general hospitals. Effective psychiatric consultation requires clear communication with the referring physician to hone the consultation question, to provide…
Key Points Incidence Medically-unexplained symptoms (MUS) are ubiquitous in inpatients and outpatients. Epidemiology Patients with MUS that suffer from somatoform disorders may represent the largest group with psychopathology within primary care populations (at 10%–24%). Pathophysiology While the etiology of somatic…