Hysteria Was Named After the Uterus
The uterus is the organ in which a foetus develops. The Greek word for it, hystera, gave English hysteria, a diagnosis long used against women.
The uterus is the muscular organ in which a foetus develops. Its Greek name, *hystera*, is the source of *hysteria*: ancient and later medicine held that the organ could wander through the body and cause emotional disturbance, and the diagnosis was applied overwhelmingly to women for centuries. It was removed from the American psychiatric manual only in 1980.
- The womb. *The lining of the uterus.*
- Uterine — the adjective. *Uterine muscle.*
- Hysterectomy — surgical removal. *A partial hysterectomy.*
- Womb — the everyday English word. *In the womb.*
- Hysteria — from the same Greek root. *Mass hysteria.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | uterus | A healthy uterus. |
| Plural | uteri | Also uteruses. |
| Adjective | uterine | Uterine lining. |
| Greek | hystera | The womb. |
| Everyday word | womb | In the womb. |
- The uterus expands greatly during pregnancy.Anatomy.
- Hysterectomy means removal of the uterus.The Greek root is visible.
- Hysteria was dropped as a diagnosis in 1980.Medical history.
How the diagnosis of hysteria worked
- Ancient theory — the womb was thought to move within the body
- Symptoms — almost anything: anxiety, breathlessness, irritability, fainting
- Applied to women almost exclusively, for well over two thousand years
- Used to dismiss complaints that were often physical or situational
- Removed from the DSM in 1980, and its former cases redistributed across real conditions
Latin *uterus*, womb, related to Greek *hystera*. English took the Latin term as an anatomical word in the 1600s; *womb* is the older native English word.
Are uterus and hysteria related?
Yes, through the Greek hystera, womb. Hysteria was named for the organ that was wrongly blamed for it.
What is the plural of uterus?
Uteri in Latin form, uteruses in ordinary English. Both appear in medical writing.