Hypochondriacs?

[UnderdogMD]

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How do they fare in med school? I have a feeling that when I attend every time I learn about a new disease/condition I will think I have it🙄.

 

[TRAMD]

I wonder what the root of hypochondriac means? If hypo means lower than average is chondriasis the state of thinking you are healthy? Can anyone that knows more Latin than I answer this?

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

There's always jokes about "med school" syndrome, where med students show up at the doctor claiming they're absolutely positive they've got a pheochromocytoma or something equally bizarre just after they learn about it. This also seems to happen a lot in psych, where people start diagnosing friends and family with personality disorders.

 

[Meatwad]

I wonder what the root of hypochondriac means? If hypo means lower than average is chondriasis the state of thinking you are healthy? Can anyone that knows more Latin than I answer this?

Well, I know there are two words that are similar, but one's Greek. In Latin, it's just hypo- and -chondros, which I think would come out to something like "under the cartilage."

The Greek definition of hupokhondrias seems a bit more related to hypochondriasis. I don't know the exact definition, but it deals with the melancholy humor of the body (which is around the abdomen I think, which matches up nicely with the Latin "under the cartilage (breastbone)," definition. Maybe they felt an underactive melancholy humor made one think they had lots of diseases? No idea...😕

 

[TRAMD]

Well, I know there are two words that are similar, but one's Greek. In Latin, it's just hypo- and -chondros, which I think would come out to something like "under the cartilage."

The Greek definition of hupokhondrias seems a bit more related to hypochondriasis. I don't know the exact definition, but it deals with the melancholy humor of the body (which is around the abdomen I think, which matches up nicely with the Latin "under the cartilage (breastbone)," definition. Maybe they felt an underactive melancholy humor made one think they had lots of diseases? No idea...😕

Thanks. That's as good of an answer as I have received.

 

[samenewme]

How do they fare in med school? I have a feeling that when I attend every time I learn about a new disease/condition I will think I have it🙄.

I think it happens sometimes. But then you can use that as a learning opportunity to look up the differential diagnosis and figure out why you don't have it. Or call your doctor if you have to. Just don't agonize over it.

I actually developed something I call med student hypochondria by proxy. After a lecture on endocrinology, I e-mailed my ex-husband to ask him if anyone had ever checked him for Cushing's syndrome. We corresponded about it for a while and I think he eventually decided it was actually a pretty realistic possibility. I ended up reading a bit about tests and symptoms and sequelae and learned more about the syndrome than I would have because of this odd personal tie-in.

Hey, if you're going to be nutty, you might as well get something out of it.

 

[tulane06]

Well, I know there are two words that are similar, but one's Greek. In Latin, it's just hypo- and -chondros, which I think would come out to something like "under the cartilage."

The Greek definition of hupokhondrias seems a bit more related to hypochondriasis. I don't know the exact definition, but it deals with the melancholy humor of the body (which is around the abdomen I think, which matches up nicely with the Latin "under the cartilage (breastbone)," definition. Maybe they felt an underactive melancholy humor made one think they had lots of diseases? No idea...😕

I thought it was because hypochondriacs often complain of aches and pains in that region.

 

[TRAMD]

I thought it was because hypochondriacs often complain of aches and pains in that region.

EVEN BETTER! Complaining of pain "below the cartilage" of the ribs! I am pretty satisfied with that explanation.

 

[musiclink213]

I thought it was because hypochondriacs often complain of aches and pains in that region.

I was told that it had something to do that they would get nervous and would start breathing faster, not sure what it was exactly. I remember my anatomy professor mentioning it, but I don't remember which lecture it was, so I can't stream it.

 

[senseiturtle]

Well, you're guaranteed to have PTSD when you get out.

Post-traumatic stress.

 

[ScienceJunkie]

Etymology and colloquial use

The term hypochondria comes from the Greek hypo- (below) and chondros (cartilage - of the breast bone), and is thought to have been originally coined by Hippocrates. It was thought by many Greek physicians of antiquity that many ailments were caused by the movement of the spleen, an organ located near the hypochondrium (the upper region of the abdomen just below the ribs on either side of the epigastrium). Later use in the 19th Century employed the term to mean, “illness without a specific cause,” and it is thought that around that time period the term evolved to be the male counterpart to female hysteria. In modern usage, the term hypochondriac is often used as a pejorative label for individuals who hold the belief that they have a serious illness despite repeated reassurance from physicians that they are perfectly healthy.






Thank you wikipediA...you guys are in med school and don't know how to hit enter on the google screen? geez.....