This paper attempts an integration of the existing literature on anxiety, although it is essentially devoid of psychodynamic considerations. Perhaps the most useful part is a section on cultural aspects that presents features of anxiety from a number of national groups. References are made to the Koro phenomenon of Malay origin, to the Chinese, and to Jewish and Italian Americans. From a psychoanalytic point of view, the cultural factors would be seen as contributing to the overt form of the anxiety state, rather than playing a significant role in its genesis. One might wish to see a psychoanalytic study of Koro, for instance. The Chinese phrase for this condition means 'shrinking penis'. It takes the form of an acute panic in which the patient fears his penis is shrinking into the abdomen with potentially lethal consequences. Treatment often consists of relatives and friends grasping the penis manually to prevent this.