Even if widely described, hypochondriasis remains a multidimensional concept which has to be carefully reconsidered: different meanings are indeed involved in its use, coming from historical and classical psychiatry, and from psychoanalysis as well as from the new trends in psychosomatic medicine and liaison psychiatry. The syndrome/symptom confusion has to be avoided. It also appears that some light should be shed on the concept of the term "hypochondriasis", which has been used abusively in modern psychiatry.