Investigation into the Aetiology and Treatment of Pica

Abstract

The name pica is derived from the Latin word meaning magpie. In reviewing the literature no adequate definitions are to be found. Those of Hubrigkt (1562) and Schrey (1719), as quoted by Cooper (1957), are antiquated and of historical interest only. Pica could be described as a perver-sion of appetite with persistent and purposeful ingestion of unsuitable substances, seemingly of no nutrient value. It is associated with the passage of these substances unchanged in the stool, and with radiological evidence of their presence in the gut when they are radio-opaque. Pica is world-wide in distribution, and occurs at all ages. Each individual or local group seems to specialize in one direction, eating only a particular