Medical and nursing term for a state of confusion about time, place, or person. Often used in clinical contexts such as 失見当識.
When disorientation is observed in elderly patients, it is important to adjust their environment.
Temporary disorientation can occur after surgery.
見当識 means orientation (awareness of time, place, person). 失見当 is its loss or impairment.
Compound of 失 (loss) and 見当 (orientation, estimate). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; it is a modern medical coinage.