Job

We’ve all heard that you can’t judge a book by its cover, and that is certainly true of Trichotillomania. The Medusa-like figure on the jacket suggests that patients with trichotillomania are evil, mythical creatures, rather than real people with a troublesome disorder. Fortunately, the authors are well aware of the difficulties faced by these patients; they do a superb job of characterizing the clinical aspects of the disorder and providing a careful review of its pathophysiologic features and treatment. Francois Hallopeau, a French dermatologist, coined the term trichotillomania by combining the Greek words trichos (meaning hair), tillein (meaning to pull), and mania (meaning madness, or an abnormal penchant or morbid impulse). Although mania has since come to be regarded as a form of psychosis, the term accurately describes the compulsive nature of hair pulling.