title: Munchausen syndrome/Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
abstract: Munchausen syndrome (MS) is characterized by patients' chronic and relentless pursuit of medical treatment for combinations of symptoms of consciously self-inflicted injury and falsely reported symptomatology. MS patients are adults, as are perpetrators of Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP). MSBP is an unusual form of child abuse in which a parent, usually the mother, brings a child for medical attention with symptoms falsified or directly induced by the mother. Most reports of MSBP have been of a few cases appearing in medical and pediatric literature. Motivation in both disorders is unclear, and diagnosis and treatment present difficult problems that require more research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, St. John's University, Jamaica, NY 11439, USA.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009110:Munchausen Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016735:Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy / Q000175:diagnosis*