retrospectoscope
n.— «The view through scopes—colonoscopes, arthroscopes and laparoscopes, to name a few—routinely aids physicians in narrowing diagnoses and arriving at a plan of care. But none is as illuminating as the one doctors refer to as the “retrospectoscope,” the scope of hindsight. The retrospectoscope brings startling clarity to the most mysterious disease processes: difficult decisions become brilliant choices, minor missteps turn into devastating errors, and the best of intentions can transform into deep regret and persistent what-if’s.» —“From Medical School to Middle Age ” by Pauline W. Chen New York Times Apr. 7, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In English, we may express regret colloquially with the rhyming phrase Shoulda, woulda, coulda! German speakers also use a rhyming phrase to suggest the same idea: Hätte, hätte, Fahrradkette!, which translates literally as “If only, if only, bicycle...
A physician in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, shares some of the vocabulary of his patients from Appalachia. There, a misery is anything painful, such as a misery in my jaw if they have a painful tooth or a misery in my back if they have lumbar pain...