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Medical Definition of Diagnostic and statistical manual
1. An American Psychiatric Association publication which classifies mental illnesses.Currently in its fourth edition (DSM-IV) and first published in 1952, the manual provides health practitioners with a comprehensive system for diagnosing mental illnesses based on specific ideational and behavioural symptoms. The DSM approach supplants older, less rigorous methods of diagnosis, and as such represents a major step forward for the field of psychiatry. It consists of five axes covering clinical syndromes, developmental and personality disorders, physical disorders, severity of psychosocial stressors, and global assessment of functioning. It is used primarily in the U.S.; elsewhere, the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases is preferred. (05 Mar 2000)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Diagnostic And Statistical Manual
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