The semantic problems of psychiatry

The semantic problems of psychiatry 1 Medical problems are commonly discussed in terms of' diseases'; and although important decisions may be made, especially in emergency situations, without the use of this terminology, it is unlikely that a medical language that dispenses with it will be elaborated. Names of diseases have widely varying factual implications; i.e. the types of observation that are required to test diagnostic statements that use them vary widely. If they are to be used in statements purporting to be scientific, it is essential that these varying implications should be made explicit. Analysis of medical usages of the names of diseases, both in my own speciality of respiratory disease