About this episode

This episode discusses the concept of the placebo effect and its implications in medicine.

A placebo ( / p l ə ˈ s iː b oʊ / pluh-SEE-boh ) is a medicine or treatment intended to appear genuine to its recipient, but which has no pharmaceutical effect. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline ), sham surgery , [ 3 ] and other procedures. [ 4 ]

Topics covered

• placebo effect
• medicine
• treatment

Keywords

• placebo
• inert tablets
• sham surgery

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