A pathologist's perspective of the somatoform disorders

ObjectiveThe object of this study was to revisit the evidence that somatoform disorders should be classified as mental and not physical disorders, as viewed through the eyes of a pathologist rather than a psychiatrist.MethodsAn academic clinical pathologist was asked to review recent widening in the concepts of physical disease and to comment on whether these changes made the criteria for designating somatoform disorders as mental disorders more workable or less workable.ResultsThe review showed that somatoform disorders share many characteristics with certain types of physical conditions, especially those with multiorgan manifestations and multifactor causes. The criteria used to separate somatoform disorders from physical diseases are now less clear than when this distinction was first proposed.ConclusionDiscussions for reviewing the status of the somatoform disorders for DSM-V need input from a wide range of medical disciplines besides psychiatry.