ABSTRACT
Hypochondria presents a characteristic clinical picture which hardly permits of error. Hypochondria is more frequently met with among men than among women, and is more common among those who are unmarried. It makes its appearance, as a rule, before middle life, being more frequent before forty than afterward. The underlying neuropathy of hypochondria is now and then revealed in the person of the patient. Thus, he may be delicate and neurotic in appearance. The tendency to hypochondria is not infrequently noted in childhood. A child, for instance, betrays unusual fear of illness or makes an excessive ado about trivial accidents, slight wounds or bruises. An analysis of the symptoms of hypochondria throws but little light upon the pathology of the affection. In children in whom a tendency to hypochondria is noted, every effort should be made to minimize the importance of affections from which they suffer or accidents through which they pass.
