英：hysteria; 法：hysterie; 德：Hysterie
癔症的病情学范畴可追溯至古希腊的医学，当时它被构想为因子宫在身体内到处游走而导致的一种女性疾病 (在希腊语中，“hysteron'”即子宫的意思)。此一术语在19世纪的精神病学中获得了一个重要的地位，尤其是在让-马丁·沙柯的著作当中，弗洛伊德曾在1885一1886年跟从沙柯学习。正是在1890年代治疗癔症病人的过程中，弗洛伊德发展出了精神分析的治疗方法（自由联想等），并且开始建立起精神分析理论的一些主要概念。弗洛伊德的第一例严格精神分析意义上的个案，便涉及对于名叫“杜拉”的一位癔症女病人的治疗 (Freud, 1905e).
癔症的经典症状学包括了诸如局部性的瘫痪、疼痛与麻木之类的躯体症状。对于这些症状，人们无法找到任何器质性的原因，并且这些症状也皆是围绕着与神经系统的实在结构丝毫不具关联的一种“想象的解剖”(imaginary anatomy)来进行组织的（见：Lacan, 1951b:13)。然而，尽管拉康确实有讨论癔症的症状学，并且将其联系于碎裂的身体 (FRAGMENTED BODY)的意象（E, 5), 但是他最终把癔症定义为一种结构 (STRUCTURE)而非一组症状的集合。这意味着，一个主体可能并未充分展现出意症的任何典型的躯体症状，但是仍旧会被一位拉康派的分析家诊断成一位癔症患者。
如同弗洛伊德一样，拉康也把癔症视作神经症 (NEUROSIS)的两种主形式之一，另一种是强迫型神经症（OBSESSIONAL NEUROSIS)。在1955一1956年度的研讨班上，拉康发展出了这样种思想：认为神经症的结构是一个问题的结构，而把癔症与强迫型神经症区分开来的正是这一问题的本质。强迫型神经症涉及有关主体存在 (existence)的问题，而癔症则关系有关主体性别位置 (sexual position)的问题。这个问题可以用“我是男人还是女人？”的措辞来表达，或者更确切地说，用“什么是一个女人？”的措辞来表达 (S3,170-5)。这对于男性与女性的癔症患者而言皆是如此 (S3,178)。拉康因而重申了在癔症与女性特质之间存在着一种密切联系的古老观，点。实际上，大多数的癔症患者都是女人，正如大多数的强迫型神经症患者都是男人。
欲望的结构，即欲望乃是大他者的欲望的此种结构，是被更清晰地表现在癔症而非任何其他的临床结构之中的：癔症患者恰恰是通过认同别人而将他者的欲望据为己有的人。例如，杜拉就认同K先生，同时把她觉察到的K先生拥有的对于K夫人的欲望当作她自己的欲望 (S4,138)。然而，正如杜拉个案所同样显示的那样，癔症患者唯有在她不是大他者的欲望对象的条件下才维系着大他者的欲望 (Ec, 222); 她无法忍受自己被当作那一欲望的对象，因为那样便会重新激活剥夺的创伤 (S17,84)。正是欲望结构与癔症结构之间的这一特殊关系，说明了拉康为何会对此种临床结构投入这么多的关注，以及他为何会在1970年代发展出有必要在精神分析治疗中“癔症化”分析者这样的思想。癔症，作为一种临床结构，必须同拉康有关癔症话语 (DISCOURSE)的概念加以区分，后者指代的是社会联结的一种特殊形式。
(hysterie) The nosographical category of hysteria dates back to ancient Greek medicine, which conceived of it as a female disease caused by the womb wandering throughout thebody (in Greek hysteron means womb). The term acquired an important place inpsychiatry in the nineteenth century, especially in the work of Jean-Martin Charcot, underwhom Freud studied in 1885-6. It was in the course of treating hysterical patients in the1890s that Freud developed the psychoanalytical method of treatment (free association, etc.) and began to form the major concepts of psychoanalytic theory. Freud's firstproperly psychoanalytic case history concerns the treatment of a hystericalwomanknown as 'Dora' (Freud, 1905e).
The classic symptomatology of hysteria involves physical symptoms such as localparalyses, pains and anaesthesias, for which no organic cause can be found, and whichare articulated around an 'imaginary anatomy'which bears no relation to the realstructure of the nervous system (see Lacan, 1951b:13). However, although Lacan doesdiscuss the symptomatology of hysteria, linking it to the imago of the FRAGMENTEDBODY (E, 5), he comes to define hysteria not as a set of symptoms but as aSTRUCTURE. This means that a subject may well exhibit none of the typical bodilysymptoms of hysteria and yet still be diagnosed as a hysteric by a Lacanian analyst.
Like Freud, Lacan regards hysteria as one of the two main forms of NEUROSIS, theother being OBSESSIONAL NEUROSIS. In the seminar of 1955-6 Lacan develops theidea that the structure of a neurosis is that of a question, and that what differentiateshysteria from obsessional neurosis is the nature of this question. Whereas obsessionalneurosis concemns the question of the subject's existence, hysteria concerns the questionof the subject's sexual position. This question may be phrased 'Am I a man or a woman?'or, more precisely,'What is a woman?' (S3,170-5). This is true for both male andfemale hysterics (S3,178). Lacan thus reaffirms the ancient view that there is an intimateconnection between hysteria and femininity. Indeed, most hysterics are women, just asmost obsessional neurotics are men.
The structure of desire, as desire of the Other, is shown more clearly in hysteria thaninany other clinical structure; the hysteric is precisely someone who appropriatesanother's desire by identifying with them. For example Dora identifies with Herr K, taking as her own the desire which she perceives him to have for Frau K (S4,138). However, as the case of Dora also shows, the hysteric only sustains the desire of the Other on condition that she is not the object of that desire (Ec, 222); she cannot bear to betaken as the object of desire because that would revive the wound of privation (S17,84). It is this privileged relation between the structure of desire and the structure of hysteriawhich explains why Lacan devotes so much attention to this clinical structure, and whyhe develops the idea in the 1970s that it is necessary, in psychoanalytic treatment, to'hystericise'the analysand. Hysteria, as a clinical structure, must be distinguished from Lacan's concept of the DISCOURSE of the hysteric, which designates a particular formof social bond.