Today it is a generally recognized fact that most doctors prescribe or use placebos with or without the patient's consent to improve the outcome of treatment. A placebo is a medically inert treatment or substance that is intended to deceive the patient so that physical relief of symptoms and improvement in the patient's medical condition can be observed. Throughout history, placebos have always been approached with apprehension and suspicion. (Horizon) It's quite a controversial topic in medicine, but recent research shows there's more to placebo than stereotypes and myths let on. Placebo is an effective treatment method because expectation and psychological conditioning can induce a "biochemical response" (Horizon) in the body that improves the patient's health condition. A placebo is a medically inert or inactive substance that causes actual chemical reactions in our body. body. The patient's attitude, belief and understanding towards treatment are crucial to a successful outcome. This “altered perception” causes a “complex web of psychological effects surrounding medical treatment.” (Hall) This triggers analgesics in the body to occur naturally and cause a reduction in pain. It is called the “placebo effect” when real progress or pain relief is observed. (Kennedy Institute) In terms of evolution, it is a significant step in seeing how the human body can heal itself. (Kennedy Institute) Placebo is generally used for the following two purposes: clinical treatment or medical research. Medical research means that when a new medicine is produced, it must outperform a placebo pill in at least two studies before being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (stuff on YouTube) In clinical care,...... middle of paper...... placebo is more than a psychological illusion. Its operating mechanism is not yet fully known and research into it is still relatively new but it provides a lot of information on the relationship between mind and body. It also shows that when patients' minds are truly channeled towards a goal or idea, they can overcome the body, the pain in this case. The placebo has always been present since the dawn of medicine and will remain so in the future. Instead of throwing it aside as useless, scientists should find ways to make the most of it and learn as much as possible about the human mind and body. How can better results be achieved with a placebo? Why do different people respond differently to the experiment while others do not respond at all? Scientists still have a long way to go to answer these questions. But one thing is for sure: it's real.