a psychiatric disorder in which sufferers pretend to have various serious illnesses in order to get medical treatment, often in hospital. To this end, they sometimes inflict severe injuries on their bodies or describe their symptoms so accurately that surgery is required
Munchausen's syndrome by proxy
a similar psychiatric disorder in which sufferers harm other people, usu children, to attract medical attention
[named after Baron Munchausen, the eponymous hero of a book (1785) of fantastic stories about his daring but implausible exploits]