Word of the Day: Hypochondriac

hypochondriac

hy-po-chon-dri-ac / hī-pə-kŏn-drē-ăk

adjective

1. pertaining to or suffering from hypochondria, an abnormal or excessive anxiety about one’s health

Doctors who have had experience with hypochondriac patients say one of the biggest challenges can be “organizing” the symptoms.

Karlyn Barker, “The Whys and Hows of Hypochondria: Imagined Illnesses: They’re Enough to Make You Sick”, ‘Los Angeles Times’, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-25-me-127-story.html, September 25, 1989

2. in anatomy, pertaining to the hypochondrium, the area of the abdomen below the lowest rib

The right hypochondriac region contains the right portion of the liver, the gallbladder, the right kidney, and parts of the small intestine. The left hypochondriac region contains part of the spleen, the left kidney, part of the stomach, the pancreas, and parts of the colon.

“Abdominopelvic Regions”, www.med.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Anatomy_and_Physiology/Anatomy_and_Physiology_(Boundless)/1%3A_Introduction_to_Anatomy_and_Physiology/1.4%3A_Mapping_the_Body/1.4F%3A_Abdominopelvic_Regions, accessed March 24, 2023

noun

1. one who worries continuously about his or her health, often imagining symptoms, even when there is no medical evidence of illness

We are becoming a nation of sissies and hypochondriacs, a self medicating society easily intimidated by pain and prone to panic.

Norman Cousins, 1915 – 1990