Munchausen Syndrome

Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self

A factitious disorder wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma to draw attention, sympathy, or reassurance to themselves.

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Origin

Named by British endocrinologist Richard Asher in a February 1951 article in The Lancet, after the fictional Baron Munchausen, whose wildly exaggerated adventures were popularized in an 1785 book by Rudolf Erich Raspe. Asher chose the name because, like the Baron, his patients 'have always travelled widely; and their stories, like those attributed to him, are both dramatic and untruthful.'

Updated February 22, 2026