What is “KORO/ Genital Retraction Syndrome.”? A Comprehensive Overview.

Book excerpt: What is “KORO/ Genital Retraction Syndrome.”? mA Comprehensive Overview.  Koro is the fear of the genitals shrinking and retracting into the body. Koro is sometimes referred to as genital retraction syndrome. Females occasionally suffer from a variation of koro in which they believe that their nipples are retracting. Interestingly, koro often appears as an epidemic in which multiple cases are reported simultaneously within a specific geographic area. Cases of this fear have been reported around the world in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the U.S. The conclusion is that the psychological disappearance of the penis is a universal syndrome that was described recently in Asia and Africa and already in Medieval Europe. An attempt has been made in this Booklet to present a summarizing overview on ethnomedical aspects of koro (in Chinese called suoyang ), the panic anxiety state in which affected males believe that the penis is shrinking and/or retracting, and perhaps disappearing. …Dr. H. K. Saboowala. M.B.(Bom) .M.R.S.H.(London)