[Mental constitution and mental disease: from Th. Tilings's to E. Kretschmer's concepts]

The dynamics of the concept of the continual development of mental disease from the constitution that was the most clearly formulated by a Russian psychiatrist Th. Tiling in the discussion with the German psychiatrist C. Neisser is presented. The concept of Th. Tiling influenced E. Bleuler's approach to the description of basic and accessory symptoms of schizophrenia and also on E. Kretschmer's concept of constitution and mental disease. Main characteristics of cycloid and schizoid personality of E. Kretschmer's concept are presented. The author notes the very broad E. Kretschmer's understanding of 'psychesthetic proportion', which state explains not only the diversity of schizoid types but also many psychotic psychopathological phenomena. In addition to the altered affectivity, autism was the second basic symptom of schizophrenia, which mild manifestations form the basis for E. Kretschmer systematics of schizoid types. E. Kretschmer's understanding of autism was broader than Bleuler's and was presented by E. Kretschmer as a symptom derived from special schizoid affectivity (psychesthetic proportion). The critics of E. Kretschmer's concept by some contemporary German psychiatrists is also considered.