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A Practical Guide to the Evaluation of Child Physical Abuse and Neglect pp 291–305Cite as

Medical Child Abuse

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Abstract

A few years ago this chapter might have begun with an account of the Baron von Munchausen. It might have chronicled the life of an elderly German soldier turned raconteur, who lived from 1720 to 1797, who loved to frequent the salons of Europe and entertain people with his stories, and who was made famous by one of his countrymen (Meadow & Lennert, 1984). We would explain how Rudolph Raspe wrote a book of tall tales, children’s stories in the same vein as Paul Bunyan that he attributed to the Baron (Raspe, 1944). This account would precede a description of Meadow’s original paper “Munchausen syndrome by proxy: The hinterland of child abuse” (Meadow, 1977). It would seek to establish that the central feature of this form of child abuse was the falsehoods told by parents who tricked physicians into giving unnecessary medical care.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Protection Section of the Emergency Center, Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Reena Isaac MD

  2. Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Thomas A. Roesler MD (Associate Professor)

Authors
  1. Reena Isaac MD
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  2. Thomas A. Roesler MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Texas Children's Health Plan, Inc., Holcombe Blvd. 2450, Houston, 77021, Texas, USA

    Angelo P. Giardino

  2. Texas Children’s Hospital, Children's Assessment Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Fannin St. 6621, Houston, 77030-2399, Texas, USA

    Michelle A. Lyn

  3. School of Nursing at Houston, Department of Integrative Care, University of Texas, Bertner 6901, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Eileen R. Giardino

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Isaac, R., Roesler, T.A. (2010). Medical Child Abuse. In: Giardino, A., Lyn, M., Giardino, E. (eds) A Practical Guide to the Evaluation of Child Physical Abuse and Neglect. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0702-8_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0702-8_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0701-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0702-8

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