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Alfred Coodley, MD, PhD
Los Angeles

JAMA. 1986;256(20):2818.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Kathryn Simmons¹ presented a valuable discussion of dysphagia management in the June 20th issue of JAMA, describing problems of this nature stemming from such conditions as bulbar neurological disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, hyperthyroidism, retropharyngeal abscesses, and myasthenia gravis.

However, when Martin Donner, MD, states that "the mystique of 'globus hystericus'—that somebody is hysterical and therefore can't swallow—is to a large extent nonexistent," I must challenge this conclusion.

Idiomatic expressions such as "I can't swallow that" or "I can't stomach that" or "Hearing that makes me sick" did not evolve from outer space. Human beings recognized that bodily functions may echo emotions. Having been psychiatric consultant to the allergy and immunology clinic and to the family medicine department at the UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, for many years as well as being in private practice for over 30 years, I have encountered a number of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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