Copy of `Dorland's Medical Dictionary`

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Dorland's Medical Dictionary Category: Health and Medicine > Medical Dictionary Date & country: 31/12/2010, USA Words: 39128

Walther ganglion
glomus coccygeum.

wandering abscess
one that burrows into tissues and finally points at a distance from the site of origin.

wandering cell
ameboid cell.

wandering kidney
nephroptosis.

wandering pacemaker
wandering atrial pacemaker a condition in which the site of origin of the impulses controlling the heart rate shifts from the head of the sinoatrial node to a lower part of the node or to another part of the atrium.

wandering pneumonia
migratory pneumonia.

wandering spleen
floating s.

wandering tooth
a tooth that drifts from its normal position in the dental arch. Called also drifting tooth.

war fever
epidemic typhus.

Warburg syndrome
(vahr´boorg) Walker-Warburg syndrome.

ward
(word) a large room in a hospital for the accommodation of several patients. a division within a hospital for the care of numerous patients having the same condition, such as a a maternity ward.

Ward-Romano syndrome
(word´ ro-mah´no) Romano-Ward syndrome.

warfarin
(wor´fәr-in) a synthetic coumarinanticoagulant, usually used as the sodium salt; administered orally or intravenously. It is also used as a rodenticide, causing fatal hemorrhaging in any mammal that consumes a sufficient dose, including humans.

warm agglutinin
an incomplete antibody that sensitizes and reacts optimally with erythrocytes at 37° C.

warm ischemia time
the time interval between traumatic amputation of a limb or part and its placement on ice.

warm water immersion foot
tropical immersion foot.

Warren incision
an incision following the thoracomammary fold, permitting access to any part of the breast.

wart
(wort) a type of skin tumor caused by exposure to human papillomavirus; the term is also applied loosely to any of various other similar benign lesions of nonviral origin. Warts are more common in children and young adults than in older persons. They may be flat or raised and dry or moist, usually have a rough and ...

Wartenberg sign
a sign of ulnar palsy, consisting of a position of abduction assumed by the little finger. reduction or absence of the pendulum movements of the upper limb in walking; seen in patients with cerebellar disease.

Warthin tumor
adenolymphoma.

Warthin-Finkeldey cell
a type of multinucleate giant cell with intranuclear inclusions, of lymphoreticular origin, seen in various organs, including lymph nodes, tonsil, appendix, and thymus, just prior to or during the prodromal phase of measles.

warty horn
a hard, pointed outgrowth of a wart.

wash
(wahsh) to clean or bathe. a solution used for cleansing or bathing a part, as an eye or the mouth. See also irrigation and lavage.

washout
(wahsh´out) a cleansing or sweeping clean. nitrogen washout nitrogen washout test.

wasserhelle cell
water-clear cell a large clear cell found in the parathyroid gland; these cells have a ballooned appearance and are especially numerous in adenoma of the gland.

Wassermann test
(vahs´er-mahn) the original (1906) nontreponemal antigen test for syphilis.

waste
(wāst) gradual loss, decay, or decrease in bulk. material that is unfit for further use within the organism. to gradually deteriorate.

wasting
(wāst´ing) the gradual deterioration of an individual, usually with loss of strength and muscle mass; it may be accompanied by loss of appetite, which makes it worse. excessive depletion.

wasting disease
any disease marked especially by progressive emaciation and weakness.

wasting paralysis
spinal muscular atrophy.

wasting syndrome
the wasting condition seen in persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), consisting of weight loss, muscle wasting, and often fever, due to a variety of causes including nutritional deficiencies and chronic diarrhea. Called also HIV wasting syndrome.

watchband incision
a small transverse incision, averaging 3 cm in length, in the anterior surface of the forearm near the wrist; used for endoscopic radial artery harvesting in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

water
(waw´tәr) (wah´tәr) a clear, colorless, odorless, tasteless liquid, H2O. an aqueous solution of a medicinal substance; called also aromatic water. purified water.

water bacterium
a gram-negative bacterium capable of rapid growth in all types of water and producing pyrogenic infections, especially in immunocompromised hospital patients, occurring as contaminants in hemodialysis fluids and in flood waters. Genera of medical importance include Aeromonas, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas.

water balance
fluid balance.

water bed
a type of flotation bed that is filled with water.

water channel
aquaporin.

water deprivation test
a test of the body's ability to concentrate urine when plasma osmolality is artificially increased: without fasting, the patient is deprived of water for at least eight hours. Patient weight and measurements of plasma and urine osmolalities are obtained before the test and each hour after the four-hour point. In a normal ...

water for injection
water for parenteral use, prepared by distillation or reverse osmosis and meeting certain standards for sterility and clarity; it may be specified as sterile if it has been sterilized and as bacteriostatic if suitable antimicrobial agents have been added.

water provocative test
drinking test.

water vapor pressure
the tension exerted by water vapor molecules, 47 mm Hg at normal body temperature.

water-borne infection
one caused by microorganisms transmitted in water.

water-hammer pulse
Corrigan pulse.

water-silk reflex
shot-silk retina.

Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome
(waw´tәr-hous frid´rik-sәn) the malignant or fulminating form of meningococcal meningitis, marked by sudden onset and short course, fever, coma, collapse, cyanosis, hemorrhages from the skin and mucous membranes, and bilateral adrenal hemorrhage.

waters
(waw´tәrz) popular name for amniotic fluid.

Waters operation
a form of extraperitoneal cesarean section.

Waters position
the position of the head in Waters projection.

Waters projection
a radiographic projection of the anterior head, used for viewing the maxillary sinuses and sphenoid bone; the central ray enters at an angle through the chin.

watershed area
an area of a cerebral or cerebellar hemisphere that is distant from the circle of Willis, and where the vascular beds of two cerebral arteries meet and form anastomoses. At times of prolonged systemic hypotension, these areas are particularly susceptible to cerebral infarction (see watershed infarction).

watershed infarction
a cerebral infarction in a watershed area during a time of prolonged systemic hypotension.

Waterston anastomosis
Waterston operationWaterston shunt anastomosis between the ascending aorta and right pulmonary artery as palliative treatment of congenital pulmonary stenosis.

Watkins operation
an operation for prolapse and procidentia uteri in which the bladder is separated from the anterior wall of the uterus so that the uterus is left in a position to support the entire bladder. Called also interposition operation.

Watson syndrome
(waht´sәn) a rare, autosomal dominant condition characterized by pulmonary stenosis, café au lait spots, subnormal intelligence, and sometimes neurofibromas; some authorities consider it a variant of neurofibromatosis 1.

Watson-Schwartz test
a simple qualitative procedure for differentiating porphobilinogen from urobilinogen and other Ehrlich reactors, based on the insolubility of porphobilinogen aldehyde in chloroform and butanol; it is useful in diagnosis of acute porphyria.

watt
(W) (waht) the SI unit of power, being the work done at the rate of 1 joule per second. In electric power, it is equivalent to a current of 1 ampere under a pressure of 1 volt.

wattage
(waht´әj) the output or consumption of an electric device expressed in watts.

wattmeter
(waht´me-tәr) an instrument for measuring wattage.

wave
(wāv) a uniformly advancing disturbance in which the parts undergo a change in direction, such as a progressing disturbance on the surface of a liquid. variation in the transmission of electromagnetic energy, especially the periodic change in direction of a reading on a monitoring device.

wavelength
(wāv´length) the distance between the top of one wave and the identical phase of the succeeding one in the advance of waves of radiant energy.

wax
(waks) a plastic solid of plant or animal origin or produced synthetically. adj., wax´y., adj. bone wax a waxy substance used for packing small bone cavities, as in bones of the skull, and for controlling bleeding from them. dental wax a mixture of...

waxy kidney
amyloid kidney.

waxy spleen
a spleen affected with amyloid degeneration.

Wb
weber.

WBC
white blood cell (see leukocyte); white blood cell count.

WDHA syndrome
[watery diarrhea, hypokalemia, achlorhydria] Verner-Morrison syndrome.

WDHH syndrome
[watery diarrhea, hypokalemia, hypochlorhydria] Verner-Morrison syndrome.

wean
(wēn) to discontinue breastfeeding and substitute other feeding habits. to discontinue bottle feeding and substitute feeding by a cup or some other means. in respiratory therapy, to gradually decrease dependence on assisted ventilation until the patient is able to breathe spontaneously. ...

weaning
(wēn´ing) the discontinuing of breastfeeding. the ending of dependency on something. mechanical ventilatory weaning helping a patient to breathe without the aid of a mechanical ventilator.

weanling diarrhea
a collection of diseases in the infant, described as a syndrome, associated with weaning from the breast. It is attributed to the introduction of other food and loss of the protective properties of breast milk.

web
(web) a tissue or membrane. laryngeal web a common congenital malformation of the larynx, ranging from a thin, translucent diaphragm to a thicker, more fibrotic obstruction (see laryngeal atresia); it is spread between the vocal folds near the anterior commissure and may cause ho...

webbed
(webd) connected by a membrane or strand of tissue.

webbed fingers
syndactyly of the fingers.

webbed neck
a thick skin fold on the side of the neck, from the mastoid region to the acromion. Called also pterygium colli.

webbed penis
a penis enclosed by the skin of the scrotum.

webbed toes
syndactyly of the toes abnormally joined by strands of tissue at their base.

weber
(Wb) (web´әr) the SI unit of magnetic flux which, linking a circuit of one turn, produces in it an electromotive force of one volt as it is reduced to zero at a uniform rate in one second.

Weber disease
(va´bәr) Sturge-Weber syndrome.

Weber glands
the tubular mucous glands of the tongue.

Weber paralysis
Weber signWeber syndrome (web´әr) paralysis of the oculomotor nerve on the same side as the lesion, producing ptosis, strabismus, and loss of light reflex and of accommodation; also spastic hemiplegia on the side opposite the lesion with increased reflexes and loss of superficial reflexes.

Weber test
(va´bәr) a tuning fork test made by placing a vibrating tuning fork at some point on the midline of the head and noting whether it is perceived as heard in the midline (normal) or referred to either ear (middle ear disease). If it is heard better in the affected ear, there is conductive hearing loss; if it is hear...

Weber-Christian disease
(va´ber kris´chan) a type of predominantly septal panniculitis marked by fever and the formation of crops of tender nodules in adipose tissue. Called also nodular nonsuppurative or relapsing febrile nodular nonsuppurative panniculitis and Christian-Weber disease.

Weber-Cockayne syndrome
(va´bәr kok-ān´) the localized form of epidermolysis bullosa simplex.

Weber-Gubler syndrome
(web´әr gldbomacb´lәr) Weber-Leyden syndrome (web´әr li´dәn) Weber syndrome.

Webster operation
for retrodisplacement of the uterus: the round ligaments are passed through the perforated broad ligaments and fixed to the back of the uterus.

Wedensky phenomenon
on applying a series of rapidly repeated stimuli to a nerve, the muscle contracts quickly in response to the first stimulus and then fails to respond further; but if the stimuli are applied to the nerve at a slower rate, the muscle responds to all of them.

wedge
(wej) a piece of material thick at one end and tapering to a thin edge at the other end. to force something into a space of limited size; see also wedge pressure.

wedge pressure
blood pressure measured by a small catheter wedged into a vessel, occluding it.

wedge-compression fracture
compression fracture of only the anterior part of a vertebra, leaving a wedge-shaped vertebra.

wedged hepatic vein pressure
the venous pressure measured with a catheter wedged into the hepatic vein. The difference between wedged and free hepatic vein pressures is used to locate the site of obstruction in portal hypertension; it is elevated when due to cirrhosis, but low in cardiac ascites or portal vein thrombosis.

Wedl cells
large swollen cells (bladder cells) formed by the capsular epithelium in cataract development.

WEE virus
western equine encephalomyelitis virus a species of the genus Alphavirus that causes western equine encephalomyelitis.

Wegener granulomatosis
Wegener syndrome (veg´ĕ-ner) a multisystem disease chiefly affecting males, characterized by necrotizing granulomatous vasculitis involving the upper and lower respiratory tracts, glomerulonephritis, and variable degrees of systemic, small vessel vasculitis, which is generally considered to represent ...

Wegner disease
(veg´ner) osteochondritic separation of the epiphyses in hereditary syphilis.

Weibel-Palade bodies
rod-shaped intracytoplasmic bundles of microtubules, believed derived from the Golgi complex; they are specific for vascular endothelial cells and are used as markers for benign or malignant endothelial cell neoplasms in electron microscopy.

Weidel test
(for uric acid) the substance tested is treated with nitric acid, evaporated, and moistened with diluted ammonia solution; if uric acid is present, murexide will be formed, and a purple color is produced. Called also murexide test. (for xanthine) warm with freshly prepared chlorine water containing a trace of nitr...

weight
(wt) (wāt) heaviness; the degree to which a body is drawn toward the earth by gravity. in statistics, the process of assigning greater importance to some observations than to others, or a mathematical factor used to apply such a process.

weight shift
the frequent movement of a paralyzed or partially paralyzed patient to redistribute her or his weight and prevent impairment of circulation that could lead to development of pressure ulcers. One variation is the wheelchair pressure release. relocation of a patient's center of mass in order to allow movement; see a...

Weil syndrome
(vīl) severe leptospirosis with fever, jaundice, myalgia, and occasionally nephritis or meningitis. The symptoms last from 10 days to 2 weeks and recovery is usually uneventful. Called also infectious or leptospiral jaundice.

Weil-Felix test
(for typhus and certain other rickettsial diseases) the blood serum of a patient with suspected rickettsial disease is tested against certain strains of Proteus vulgaris (OX-2, OX-19, OX-K).The agglutination reactions, based on antigens common to both organisms, determine the presence and type of rickettsial infection.