Des maladies mentales, considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique, et médico-légal
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Jean-Étienne-Dominique Esquirol's Des maladies mentales, considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique, et médico-légal (1838) is considered the first modern treatise on clinical psychiatry. A student of Philippe Pinel, Esquirol was a pioneer in combining precise clinical descriptions with statistical analysis of mental illnesses. He provided the first accurate description of mental retardation as distinct from insanity and coined the term hallucination. Esquirol's work advocated for humane treatment and suggested that emotional disturbances, rather than solely organic brain damage, could cause mental illnesses. This treatise served as a foundational text for approximately 50 years.1
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