This article investigates one part of medical practice and the routine of receiving psychogenic patients in that area. In one case at an accident and emergency unit, patients suffering hysterical somatization were pejoratively considered as "emotional emergencies" or "pitis" (a slang term for hysterical fit) by the health professionals, who questioned the need for medical care. Such behaviour reflects a classic problem of insufficient knowledge of psychosocial medicine, which forms the paradigmatic basis in such cases, where there is a fine line between the mental and the corporal. To understand this dynamic, we believe an investigation is required into the historical context of the centre stage given to rational diagnosis, scientific discourse and their influences on contemporary medical education.
Emergency Medical Services; Medical Education; Psychogenic Aspects; Conversion Disorder