Delpech and the origins of occupational psychiatry

Auguste-Louis Delpech (1818-80) has been remembered principally as the author of the first detailed description of the serious consequences of exposure to carbon disulphide. A close reading of his work suggests that his reputation has been seriously undervalued. The subsequent development of occupational psychiatry, with its emphasis on the distinction between the organic and the functional, may be traced through publications on carbon disulphide. It is argued that a contemporary approach to occupational psychiatry is long overdue.