Treatment of the psychiatrically ill patient in the medical bed of a general hospital.

Disorders of the mind are disorders of a vulnerable physical organ: the brain. Psychiatry has a tradition of considering all factors involved in mental illness including psychologic, sociologic, environmental, and spiritual influence. However, we do well not to lose sight of the physical factors involved in mental illness. Admission of the psychiatrically ill patient to the medical bed of a general hospital is often the clear treatment of choice.