[Georg Büchner, ICD-10 and the physician's basic attitude]

The novel Lenz (1835) by the German author, social revolutionist and physician Georg Büchner (1813-1837) can be regarded as a prominent document in the history of medicine. On the one hand, Büchner's description of a schizophrenic disorder meets recent criteria; on the other, he hints at the physician's modern general attitude toward the patient. The latter is derived from his philosophy of art and political motives.