Side effect
Outcome that is secondary to the one intended / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is unintended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequences of the use of a drug.
This article is about side effects in the context of medicine. For side effects in the context of computer science, see Side effect (computer science). For other uses, see Side effect (disambiguation).
Occasionally, drugs are prescribed or procedures are performed for their side effects; in that case, said side effect ceases to be a side effect and is now an intended effect.[1] For instance, X-rays were historically (and are currently) used as an imaging technique; the discovery of their oncolytic capability led to their employ in radiotherapy (ablation of malignant tumours).