In medicine, the term diathermy [di´ah-ther″me] means "electrically induced heat" the use of high-frequency electromagnetic currents as a form of physical or occupational therapy and in surgical procedures. The field was pioneered in 1907 by German physician Karl Franz Nagelschmidt, who coined the term diathermy, derived from the Greek words dia and therma, and literally means "heating through.” adj., adj diather´mal, diather´mic.