Ipod And Sync With Macbook

[triffid]

All of a sudden the ipod icon won't show up in my iTunes panel and therefore I can't access the iPod contents and there's no sync button for me to use on the iTunes screen. The icon does appear on my desktop and I need to eject it in the normal way if I want to pull the cable out without getting the improper disconnection box on the screen. The stuff already in the iPod is there and plays ok. Just no updating and syncing. Can this be fixed?