Is there a strict usage difference between 耐性 and 耐容 in medical contexts?


According to WWWJDIC and ALC, 耐性 is used for drug tolerance (e.g., 耐性現象), but
耐容 is used for radiation (e.g. 耐容線量). Based on that, my guess is that 耐性 can
be used to express neutral effects like decrease in drug _effectiveness_ ,
while 耐容 expresses limitations on _harm_.

Is this a strict distinction? Does the distinction exist at all?




The kanji 容 carries the meaning "to accept", "to allow". Similar constructs
include 許容 容認 容赦 etc. The 容 here is used for the same meaning. I.e. 耐容 does
imply how much it can tolerate **harm** being done. 耐性 on the other hand is
neutral.

To recap, 耐性 can be used to refer resistance against both benefit and harm,
while 許容 can only be used for resistance against harm:

[code]

    Benefit: インスリン耐性   -> ok
    Harm: 病原菌耐性          -> ok
    
    Benefit: インスリン耐容   -> bad (unless you mean how much insulin one can take)
    Harm: 耐容線量           -> ok
    
[/code]




The kanji 容 carries the meaning "to accept", "to allow". Similar constructs
include 許容 容認 容赦 etc. The 容 here is used for the same meaning. I.e. 耐容 does
imply how much it can tolerate **harm** being done. 耐性 on the other hand is
neutral.

To recap, 耐性 can be used to refer resistance against both benefit and harm,
while 許容 can only be used for resistance against harm:

[code]

    Benefit: インスリン耐性   -> ok
    Harm: 病原菌耐性          -> ok
    
    Benefit: インスリン耐容   -> bad (unless you mean how much insulin one can take)
    Harm: 耐容線量           -> ok
    
[/code]

