[Whence dementia praecox and schizophrenia?]

Described by Kraepelin and Bleuler, dementia praecox and schizophrenia have become the basis of psychiatry. At the XIXth century, this psychosis did not exist. The author attempts through a bibliographical review of the XIXth and XXth century psychiatric tests to delineate the lack of basis for this nosographical concept, which has become a juvenile psychosis evoluing to a dementia because of abusive generalisation of Kraepelin. The use of this bad diagnostic tool had made terrible damage with delusional and hallucinated adolescents and their family (Acta psychiat. belg., 1982, 82, 243-276).