THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIC UNITY AND PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE
- GEORGE DRAPER, M.D.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
From earliest times, physicians have been embarrassed by what seemed to be two separate phases of man. One of these, ponderable and physically tangible, has been called the body or soma; the other, termed psyche, imponderable and invisible, likewise appears as an immensely powerful factor in his being.1 What the relationship of these two aspects of the creature might be, and how they may interact, has been a point of controversy throughout the history of medicine. One thing about them, however, has been definite: They are both, in some way, included in the individual animal unit. The term "psychosomatic medicine" was coined with the intent of bringing the parts together. Unfortunately, the two-pronged word does not adequately succeed in establishing the connotation of biologic unity. It still implies that the two parts, each with complete independence, work reciprocally on each other. This belief does not satisfy sound biologic tenets,
