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Dermatophagia (from Ancient Greek δέρμα — lit. skin and φαγεία lit. eating) or dermatodaxia (from δήξις, lit. biting) is a compulsion disorder of gnawing or biting one's own skin, most commonly at the fingers.
Some people will engage in self-cannibalism as an extreme form of body modification, for example by ingesting parts of their own skin. In very rare cases, people have eaten a part of their own body (such as a foot) that had to be amputated for medical reasons; such acts may be motivated by curiosity or a desire to attract attention.
People who experience command hallucinations (often associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) are most prone to self-mutilation, including the biting or eating one's own flesh.
Trichophagia is a form of disordered eating in which persons with the disorder suck on, chew, swallow, or otherwise eat hair. The term is derived from ancient Greek θρίξ, thrix ("hair") and φαγεῖν, phagein ("to eat").
Excoriation disorder, more commonly known as dermatillomania, is a mental disorder on the obsessive–compulsive spectrum that is characterized by the repeated urge or impulse to pick at one's own skin, to the extent that either psychological or physical damage is caused.
This type of scarring is considered one of the physical indicators of a mental illness, and Russell's sign is primarily found in patients with an eating disorder such as bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa. It is almost always associated with eating disorders and is the most characteristic skin condition indicative of purging.
Nail biting, also known as onychophagy or onychophagia, is an oral compulsive habit of biting one's fingernails. It is sometimes described as a parafunctional activity, the common use of the mouth for an activity other than speaking, eating, or drinking.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by attempts to lose weight by way of starvation. A person with anorexia nervosa may exhibit a number of signs and symptoms, the type and severity of which may vary and be present but not readily apparent.
Auto-vampirism is a form of vampirism that refers to drinking one's own blood, typically as a form of sexual gratification. As a mental disorder, this is also called as autohemophagia, which is derived from three Greek words: auto, which means "self"; hemo, for "blood"; and, phag, meaning "to eat".