title: Itch and pruritus: what are they, and how should itches be classified?
abstract: Itch and pruritus are two terms for the same thing. In this essay I will argue that casting about for a distinction between them creates only confusion. Once that matter is settled, it is still necessary to come up with a clinical classification for itches of different types. No system yet proposed, including the one that will be suggested here, is perfect.
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA. bernharj@ummhc.org
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bernhard
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011537:Pruritus / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009626:Terminology as Topic