Course and Prognosis of Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) has not lost any of its fascination since the early case studies by Richard Morton and the subsequent detailed initial descriptions in 1873/74 by the then famous British physician Sir William Gull and the no less well-known Frenchman Charles Laségue. However, the two initial describers already disagreed on the assessment of the course. The British Gull described the course for the majority of patients rather optimistically. Lasegue, on the other hand, already held the opinion at that time that in the case of a disease picture lasting several weeks, the course often ended chronically.