Medical term for a substance with no therapeutic effect, used in clinical trials or as a psychological treatment.
To test the new drug's effectiveness, some patients were given a placebo.
placebo effect
Standard kanji form for 'placebo'.
Rarely used kanji form.
Compound of 偽 (false) and 薬 (medicine), literally 'false medicine'. The reading ぎやく is the on'yomi of both characters.