Münchausen syndrome

• Munchausen syndrome, Münchhausen syndrome, Munchhausen syndrome, Munchausen's syndrome

From the German name Münchhausen, after the fantastical tales related by the fictional Baron Munchausen (sic) in Rudolf Erich Raspe's English-language novel Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia (1785). The character was loosely based on Baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen (1720–1797).

Münchausen syndrome (countable and uncountable, plural Münchausen syndromes)

1. (phychiatry) A factitious (artificial) mental disorder in which a person feigns illness or psychological trauma in order to garner attention or sympathy.

   Synonyms: factitious disorder, factitious disorder imposed on self