They cannot treat their own arse-elbow dysphoria, never mind anybody else's problems...

That's an excellent phrase. I idly wonder if it might also look good with "arse-elbow" rendered into poncy medical Latin of some sort, but possibly it's better as it is :-)

Google suggests that rectum and cubit are the relevant words. Recto-cubitary dementia?

Hm, I like "cubitary" very much but I would[1] have thought "arse" meant "buttocks" slightly more than it meant "rectum"[2], so "gluteal-cubitary dysphasia" would seem more appropriate, and I prefer the way it sounds too :)

[1] Being the sort of person who nitpicks the use of crude slang
[2] In fact, I think it means the whole area, including both. I have a similar objection to anatomical translations of words like "crotch" -- "crotch" refers to the whole area (because in casual conversation that's generally what you mean) which can be translated most accurately into more precise anatomical terms in different ways in different contexts. I don't know why people who think slang words have a more precise meaning do -- it generally doesn't seem to be supported by the usage :)

I used very refined slang, thank you very much :p

Gluteal = buttocks [muscles]
Rectum = end of digestive system
Natal cleft = gap down the middle
I choose gluteal, because it's the biggest part, and gives the impression of maximal foolishness if you can't distinguish that from an elbow.

I used very refined slang, thank you very much :p

:)

I choose gluteal, because it's the biggest part, and gives the impression of maximal foolishness if you can't distinguish that from an elbow.

That's an interesting point, actually. I totally agree with the bigness being the important thing.

But I've a feeling that it's not just because they're totally different, but because they have tangential points of similarity (as evinced by the arse/elbow picture quizes), so have a tantalizing suggestion of possibility which two completely incompatible objects wouldn't, that gives it a greater suggestion of stupidity.

But I've no idea if that was meant in the genesis of the phrase or if I just imagined it myself. If it is an aspect, it would be another argument in favour of "gluteal", which influenced me if not anyone else :)

Recto-cubitary agnosia?

Gluteo-radial dysphoria?

Hmm, it has been suggested at this end that ulno-gluteal dysphoria may be more accurate.

Radius, ulna, potato, potatoe. Sort of.

Hmm. Also, I'm now confused about whether "dysphoria" was the right word. By analogy with "gender dysphoria", I assumed you were using it to mean "confusion" or "uncertainty" or some such, and hence thought it was an exellent choice; but according to Wikipedia it actually means something more like "unhappiness" – it's the antonym of "euphoria". So the literal meaning of "gender dysphoria" is "unhappiness about gender", not "confusion about gender"; and really for the arse-elbow case one wants a word that specifically means confusion of some sort.

(Yes, I am bored, well spotted :-)

The NHS are unhappy about their arses and elbows :( poor NHS. Yes, we want a different word to dysphoria, don't we...