Placebo effect: Also called the placebo response. A remarkable phenomenon in which a placebo -- a fake treatment, an inactive substance like sugar, distilled water, or saline solution -- can sometimes improve a patient's condition simply because the person has the expectation that it will be helpful.
History of placebo effect
The first to recognize and demonstrate the placebo effect was English physician John Haygarth in 1799. He tested a popular medical treatment of his time, called "Perkins tractors"…
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