In this letter to the editor, the authors discuss an article by Winchel & Stanley on self-injurious behaviour. Novello & Primavera feel that self-mutilating behaviour, a topic not reviewed by Winchel & Stanley, should have included in their study. They give some examples of such behaviour. They also emphasize the importance of the ethnologic approach in understanding the phenomenon of self-injurious behaviours. (6 refs.)