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The psychiatrist is frequently accused of using strange and peculiar terminology in his work, so that the average medical man is at a loss to understand him. This applies even more to the psychoanalyst. A medical man looks askance at a psychoanalyst who tells him about 'oral dependency', 'anal aggression', 'castration anxiety', 'screen memories', etc. Of course, each science has a right to use its own symbols, but on the other hand, if one wishes to have the coöperation of medical men, one must present one's data and conclusions in a language intelligible to them.
The present volume is a step in this direction. The authors, one a psychoanalyst, the other an internist, present us with a book on psychosomatic medicine. The material is largely clinical, rather than theoretical, and it is mostly drawn from the clinical practice of the authors. There is an introductory chapter on psychosomatic medicine in which it is stated that all good doctors appreciate the emotional factors in disease. This is followed by another short chapter on Personality Development and Psychopathology, in which the authors give the criteria of a normal personality as outlined by Glover. Then there is a chapter on the various neuroses and major psychoses with their differentiation.
The bulk of the volume is devoted to a review of psychosomatic illnesses related to the various systems of the body with illustrative case material. The last part of the book is taken up by a discussion of psychotherapy with special emphasis on its limitations, combined with a review of the contributions to the subject by the authors.
The authors' interest in 'selling' psychosomatic medicine to the general practitioner is excellent but falls short of its objective. The sort of doctor who is interested in psychosomatic medicine is usually a recent graduate who has excellent training in basic sciences and who is both critical and imaginative. To such a person this monograph would appear superficial and trite beca