Dipsomaniais an historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol. It was used in the 19th century to describe a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are most commonly conceptualized today as alcoholism, but it is occasionally still used to describe a particular condition of periodic, compulsive bouts of alcohol intake. The idea of dipsomania is important for its historical role in promoting a disease theory of chronic drunkenness. The word comes from Greek ???? thirst and ????? mania. It is still mentioned in the WHO ICD10 as an alternative description for alcohol dependence syndrome, episodic use F10.26
