pseudocyesis /-sī·ē″sis/ [Gk, pseudes + kyesis, pregnancy] , a condition in which a woman believes that she is pregnant when she is not. Certain signs and symptoms suggest pregnancy, such as the absence of the menses, although conception has not occurred and therefore there is no embryonic development. The condition may be psychogenic in origin or caused by a tumor or endocrine dysfunction. Also called false pregnancy, pseudopregnancy, spurious pregnancy.
