Misleading Disease Names

More accurate nomenclature supports broader disease recognition and better aligned care and research. Misleading disease names influence diagnostic assumptions by leading clinicians to look for the wrong defining feature or miss patients whose symptoms do not fit the name. Inaccurate names affect research by making some mechanisms seem central and others seem secondary or unrelated. A name that presents a multisystem disorder as a single-organ condition can misalign resource allocation, guidelines, specialty ownership, and patient support.