Medical terms - Letter W (page 3) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Will, living

A living will is one form of advance medical directive. Advance medical directives pertain to treatment preferences and the designation of a surrogate decision-maker in the event that a person should become unable to…
Willebrand-Juergens disease

See: Von Willebrand disease
William Dobelle

A genetic disorder characterized by mild mental retardation, unique personality characteristics, unusual facial features, and cardiovascular disease. The level of calcium tends to be high in blood (hypercalcemia) and…
Williams syndrome

See: Circle of Willis.
Willis, circle of

A cancer of the kidney and one of the most important malignancies in childhood, due to loss or inactivation of a tumor suppressor gene called WT1 on chromosome 11. Tumor suppressor genes usually suppress the growth of…
Wilms tumor

An inherited disorder in which too much copper accumulates in the body. Although the accumulation of copper begins at birth, symptoms of the disorder appear later in life, between the ages of 6 and 40. A diagnostic…
Wilson disease

Women. A late 20th century creation. A feminist spelling to avoid the suffix men.
Wimmin

The term used to describe the rate of heat loss on the body resulting from the combined effect of low temperature and wind. As winds increase, heat is carried away from the body at a faster rate, driving down both the…
Wind chill

See: Round window.
Window, round

The trachea, a tube-like portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract that connects the larynx (the voicebox) with the bronchial parts of the lungs. Each time we inhale (breathe in), air goes into our nose or mouth…
Windpipe

Popular and familiar term for the scapula, the flat triangular bone at the back of the shoulder. The word "scapula" (with the accent on the first syllable) is a steal straight from the Latin. The Romans always employed…
Wing bone

See: SAD.
Winter depression

See: Tooth, wisdom.
Wisdom tooth

See: Tooth, wisdom
Witch's milk

A folk term for the milk that often comes from the breast of a newborn baby. This temporary phenomenon is due to stimulation of the baby's breasts by the mother's hormones that cross the placenta during pregnancy. The…
Withdrawal symptoms

Abnormal physical or psychological features that follow the abrupt discontinuation of a drug that has the capability of producing physical dependence. Common withdrawal symptoms include sweating, tremor, vomiting…
Withdrawal, penis

A method of contraception, also called coitus interruptus, in which the man withdraws his penis from the vagina before ejaculation. Fertilization is prevented because the sperm do not enter the vagina. The effectiveness…
Witkop syndrome

A genetic disorder characterized by the absence of several teeth at birth and abnormalities of the nails. The disorder is also known as hypodontia and nail dysgenesis or, more picturesquely, as the tooth and nail…
WM

Abbreviation for 'white male' used by doctors as shorthand when jotting down the results of their physical examination. For example, WDWNWM = well developed, well nourished white male; WDWNBM = well developed, well…
WNL

Within normal limits. A laboratory test result may for instance be WNL.
Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome

Abbreviated WHS. A chromosome disorder due to partial deletion of the short (p) arm of chromosome 4. It is therefore also called the 4p- syndrome. Features of the syndrome include midline defects with a scalp defect…
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: A condition caused by an abnormality in the electrical system of the heart which normally tells the heart muscle when to contract. In Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, there is an…
Wolfram syndrome

A genetic neurodegenerative disease that leads to many different abnormalities including diabetes insipidus (inability to concentrate the urine), diabetes mellitus (the usual type of diabetes), blindness (due to optic…
Wolframin

A protein encoded by a gene known as WFS1. Mutations in WFS1 are associated with Wolfram syndrome and also with nonsyndromic deafness. For more information, see: WFS1
Wolhynia fever

Fever: Also known as trench fever, a disease borne by body lice that was first recognized in the trenches of World War I, when it is estimated to have affected more than a million people in Russia and on the fronts in…
Womb

The womb (uterus) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The…
Womb cancer

See: Uterine cancer
Women's Health Initiative

A hospital for the exclusive use of women. The first hospital called by that name was the Woman's Hospital of New York City. It opened in 1855. The hospital was founded by the Woman's Hospital Association, a group of 30…
Women's hospital

A hospital for the exclusive use of women. The first hospital called by that name was the Woman's Hospital of New York City. It opened in 1855. The hospital was founded by the Woman's Hospital Association, a group of 30…
Womyn

Woman. A late 20th century feminist creation to avoid the suffix man
Word blindness

A neurological disorder characterized by loss of the ability to read or understand the written word. Word blindness is a complex visual disturbance resulting from disease in the visual-association areas at the back of…
Word deafness

See: Auditory aphasia
Wordprocessor's cramp

A form of focal dystonia caused by wordprocessing that affects the muscles of the hand and, sometimes, the forearm. The term 'dystonia' refers to a state of abnormal (too much or too little) muscle tone. There are many…
Working memory

Short-term (recent) memory. Working memory is a system for temporarily storing and managing the information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Working memory is…
World Health Organization

An agency of the United Nations established in 1948 to further international cooperation in improving health conditions. Although the World Health Organization inherited specific tasks relating to epidemic control…
Wormwood

The essence of absinthe, an emerald-green liqueur flavored with extracts of the wormwood plant, licorice and aromatic flavorings in a alcohol base. Absinthe was manufactured, commercialized and popularized in France in…
WPW syndrome

Abbreviation for the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition caused by an abnormality in the electrical system of the heart which normally tells the heart muscle when to contract. In the WPW syndrome, there is an…
Wrinkling, retinal

See: Macular pucker
Wrist

The proximal segment (the near part) of the hand consisting of the carpal bones and the associated soft parts. The eight carpal bones are arranged in two rows and articulate (come together to form a joint) proximally…
Writer's cramp

A dystonia that affects the muscles of the hand and sometimes the forearm and only occurs during handwriting. Similar focal dystonias have also been called typist's cramp, pianist's cramp, musician's cramp, and golfer's…
Wry neck

Medically called spasmodic torticollis, or torticollis. The most common of the focal dystonias. In torticollis, the muscles in the neck that control the position of the head are affected, causing the head to twist and…
Wt

Weight. Wt 80 lbs = weight 80 pounds.
Wymin

An alternate spelling of wimmin
Wymmin

An alternate spelling of wimmin