This paper is the first of a series of three which will deal with the psychosomatic aspects of skin diseases. Pichon-Rivière reviews the literature on pruritus and eczema and then presents his own ideas. He believes that pruritus has a role in skin diseases that is comparable to the role of anxiety in the psychological field and of pain in organic illness. General pruritus is an extension of or a displacement from anal pruritus. He mentions the possibility that there is a congenital skin erotism which would explain the apparent erotic gratification found in scratching, a gratification which contributes to the chronicity of many dermatoses. He cites cases which point to the anal masturbatory nature of scratching.

In his discussion of eczema, Pichon-Rivière points out that it can be experimentally produced by suggestion, that there is a strong link between allergic states and eczema—both having a similar emotional nucleus—and that one can establish an interplay between the allergic and emotional factors in individual cases.