A Mental Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition is characterized by the presence of mental symptoms that are judged to be the direct physiological consequence of a general medical condition. The term general medical condition refers to conditions that are coded on Axis III and that are listed outside the "Mental Disorders" chapter of ICD. (See Appendix G for a condensed list of these conditions.) As discussed in the "Introduction" to this manual, maintaining the distinction between mental disorders and general medical conditions does not imply that there are fundamental differences in their conceptualization, that mental disorders are unrelated to physical or biological factors or processes, or that general medical conditions are unrelated to behavioral or psychosocial factors or processes. The purpose of distinguishing general medical conditions from mental disorders is to encourage thoroughness in evaluation and to provide a shorthand term to enhance communication among health care providers. However, in clinical practice, it is expected that more specific terminology will be used to identify the specific condition involved.