Background: Mental State Examination (MSE) is compared with physical examination as a
reliable method of objective data investigation. There is a growing concern with psychiatric
clinics, nosology, and the reliability of diagnostic interview methods as a source of valid
diagnostic strategy. Efforts to achieve an international diagnosis protocol have been
unsuccessful or polemical. This paper focuses on psychopathology, MSE, and mental
function development within Brazilian psychiatry over the last few decades. Methods …