Derived from the Greek 'schizo' (splitting) and 'phren' (mind) with the term first coined by Bleuler in 1908, schizophrenia (F20) is a functional psychotic disorder characterized by the presence of these psychopatohological phenomena: delusions, hallucinations and disturbances in thought, perception, and behavior. Traditionally, symptoms have been separated into two categories: positive symptoms, which include hallucinations, delusions, and formal thought disorders, and negative symptoms such as anhedonia, alogia and avolition. The diagnosis of schizophrenia is clinical, made exclusively after obtaining a full psychiatric history and excluding other causes of psychosis. Risk factors include birthing complications, the season of birth, severe maternal malnutrition, maternal influenza in pregnancy, family history, childhood trauma, social isolation, cannabis use, minority ethnicity, and urbanization. Due to its relative complexity and heterogeneity, the etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms are not fully understood. Despite a low prevalence, schizophrenia's global burden of disease is immense. Over half of the patients have significant psychiatric and medical co-morbidities, making it one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. The diagnosis correlates with up to 40% of deaths attributed to suicide.