Evolution of Psychosomatic Diagnosis in DSM. Historical Perspectives and New Development for Internists

The so-called “Psychosomatic symptoms” represent a real challenge for internists. These have often been described as non-specific, non-organic, functional, dysfunctional or idiopathic. These “diagnostic puzzles” are obviously difficult to treat. Psychosomatic symptoms have been categorized as hysteria, psychogenic, psychosomatic, conversion, somatization and somatoform disorder. It is only when modern classificatory systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) were developed that research was stimulated and new clinical developments became much stronger than any other time. The current paper is aimed at briefly presenting the evolution of psychosomatic symptoms in DSM while pointing out the major milestones as well as the benefits and challenges along the way. We discuss the perspectives open with the advent of the 5^th edition the DSM-V.