Biomaterial Database

Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Child abuse in the medical system. 1996

T Donald, and J Jureidini

Child Protection Service, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia.

Munchausen syndrome by proxy often is managed differently from other forms of child maltreatment, although it is differentiated from them only by the active engagement with the medical profession in the production of morbidity. We suggest a more rigorous approach to Munchausen syndrome by proxy, with explicit acknowledgement that it is abuse and that the medical system is critical to its genesis. This leads us to question the broadness with which the label is applied (eg, in cases of imposed upper airway obstruction) and to argue for management strategies closer to those accepted for other forms of child maltreatment.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D009626	Terminology as Topic	Works about the terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.	Etymology,Nomenclature as Topic,Etymologies
D010287	Parent-Child Relations	The interactions between parent and child.	Parent-Offspring Interaction,Parent Child Relationship,Parent-Child Relationship,Interaction, Parent-Offspring,Parent Child Relations,Parent Child Relationships,Parent Offspring Interaction,Parent-Child Relation,Parent-Child Relationships,Parent-Offspring Interactions,Relation, Parent-Child,Relationship, Parent Child,Relationship, Parent-Child
D010819	Physician's Role	The expected function of a member of the medical profession.	Physicians' Role,Physician Role,Physician's Roles,Physicians Role,Physicians' Roles,Role, Physician's,Role, Physicians',Roles, Physician's,Roles, Physicians'
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002649	Child Abuse	Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)	Abuse Experiences, Childhood,Child Neglect,Child Neglect Experiences,Child Neglect, Physical,Childhood Abuse Experiences,Childhood Neglect Experiences,Neglect Experience, Childhood,Neglect Experiences, Childhood,Physical Neglect, Childhood,Child Maltreatment,Child Mistreatment,Abuse Experience, Childhood,Abuse, Child,Child Neglect Experience,Childhood Abuse Experience,Childhood Neglect Experience,Childhood Physical Neglect,Childhood Physical Neglects,Experience, Child Neglect,Experience, Childhood Abuse,Experience, Childhood Neglect,Maltreatment, Child,Mistreatment, Child,Neglect Experience, Child,Neglect, Child,Neglect, Childhood Physical,Neglect, Physical Child,Physical Child Neglect,Physical Child Neglects
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D016735	Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy	A phenomenon in which symptoms of a disease are fabricated by an individual other than the patient causing unnecessary, and often painful, physical examinations and treatments. This syndrome is considered a form of CHILD ABUSE, since another individual, usually a parent, is the source of the fabrication of symptoms and presents the child for medical care.