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The author based this study of tattooing on patients of the Psychiatric Hospital in Havana. Patients with and without tattoos were questioned about the kind of figures they would select if they were to be tattooed. The selections of both male and female patients proved to be primarily of a sexual, mystical, and religious nature. Many of the tattoos observed by the author were done on sexual areas—for instance, in a woman, on the breast, around the pubic area, and on the thighs. While tattoos were more frequently on the arms of the male patients, some were done on the genitals and on the buttocks near the anus. The author believes that the tattoo represents the signature of the patient and also comprises a graphic representation of unconscious fantasies. The paper contains an excellent review of the history of tattooing and the ideas that human beings use to rationalize the practice. In addition it presents graphic descriptions of different tattooing methods and instruments as well as the methods used to remove tattoos. By analyzing the tattoos of the patients he studied, the author has clearly demonstrated the need of the patients to reveal their unconscious through the tattoo, as in the dream.