Chapter III.
Of Partial Intellectual Derangement, and particularly of Hypochondriasis.
Partial derangement consists in error in opi-
nion and conduct, upon some one subject only,
with soundness of mind upon all, or nearly all
other subjects. The error in this case is two-
fold. It is directly contrary to truth, or it is dis-
proportioned in its effects or expected conse-
quences, to the causes which induce them. It
has been divided by the nosologists according to
its objects. When it relates to the persons,
affairs, or condition of the patient only, and is
attended with distress, it has been called hypo-
chondriasis. When it extends to objects exter-
nal to the patient, and is attended with pleasure,
or the absence of distress, it has been called
melancholia. They are different grades only of
the same morbid actions in the brain, and they
now and then blend their symptoms with each
other.
