iatrogenic
Americanadjective
adjective
-
med (of an illness or symptoms) induced in a patient as the result of a physician's words or actions, esp as a consequence of taking a drug prescribed by the physician
-
social welfare (of a problem) induced by the means of treating a problem but ascribed to the continuing natural development of the problem being treated
Usage
What does iatrogenic mean? Iatrogenic is an adjective used to describe a medical disorder, illness, or injury caused in the process of medical treatment. Iatrogenic conditions are typically caused inadvertently, such as through an incorrect diagnosis or the prescription of medicine that ends up doing harm. Less commonly, iatrogenic is used in the context of social welfare to describe a problem that has been caused by the actions intended to address another problem. Example: Iatrogenic conditions are the basis of most medical malpractice lawsuits.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of iatrogenic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After all, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can have devastating iatrogenic effects, including heart disease, opportunistic infections, other forms of cancer and suicide.
From Scientific American • Feb. 15, 2020
Evidence to support the iatrogenic transmission of amyloid-β pathology has arisen necessarily from observational — rather than experimental — studies.
From Nature • Nov. 8, 2016
There has been what he called “iatrogenic government,” an iatrogenic ailment being one caused by a physician or medicine: Some welfare policies provided perverse incentives for absent fathers.
From Washington Post • Mar. 13, 2015
Today, medicalisation of normal behaviour is a globally important contributor to over-prescribing and iatrogenic harm.
From The Guardian • Aug. 14, 2012
Doctors’ families do tend to complain that they receive less medical attention than their friends and neighbors, but they seem a normal, generally healthy lot, with a remarkably low incidence of iatrogenic illness.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
