Page:Medical Inquiries and Observations Upon the Diseases of the Mind - Benjamin Rush.djvu/79



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.