Sir, - "The word iatorgenic may not be familiar; it's a polite term for medical error." So reads the opening sentence of your preview of the revealing TV documentary, Why Doctors Make Mistakes. Revealing, indeed, it is, surely implanting in suggestible viewers dwindling faith in the competence of doctors.
"Iatorgenic" is not a polite term for describing medical error, however. There is no such word. It is iatrogenic, which refers to an illness caused by medical examination or treatment. Nor is it invariably quoted politely, certainly not by the victim.
Why newspapers make mistakes (such as this) could be an interesting study and might, perhaps, lead to the emergence of a new word to describe them politely. - Yours, etc.,
Michael Carr, Ashurst Apartments, Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.