M.E. is short for Mialgic Encephalomyelitis. The term M.E. was coined in 1956 and means: My = muscle, Algic = pain, Encephalo = brain, Mye = spinal cord, Itis = inflammation. This neurological damage has been confirmed in autopsies of M.E. patients.

M.E. is similar in a number of significant ways to illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, Lupus and Poliomyelitis (polio). Earlier names for M.E. were ‘atypical multiple sclerosis’ and ‘atypical polio.’