Glossary

Category: W

  • Woolsorter’s disease

    A form of anthrax which affects the lungs. A pulmonary form of anthrax that develops in those who handle wool contaminated with Bacillus anthracis.  

  • Wood’s lamp

    An ultraviolet lamp which allows a doctor to see fluorescence , e.g. in the hair of someone who has a fungal infection [After Robert Williams Wood (1868-1955), US physicist]. A unique luminary device employing ultraviolet light to identify specific categories of skin infections and infestations was introduced in 1903 by Robert Wood, a renowned physicist.…

  • Women’s ward

    A ward or hospital for female patients.  

  • Wolff-parkinson-white syndrome

    A condition within the heart’s conducting tissue which makes the heart beat dangerously fast. It can be fatal. Episodes of rapid heart rate caused by an extra, abnormal electrical conduction pathway between the upper and lower parts of the heart; also known as pre-excitation syndrome. In a healthy heart, the electrical signals that trigger a…

  • Wisdom tooth

    One of the four teeth in the back of the jaw which only appear at about the age of 20 and sometimes do not appear at all. The four large third molars, the last of the adult set of permanent teeth to appear, generally around ages 17 to 21. Sometimes these teeth never erupt at…

  • Wiring

    A network of wires. A neurological or physiological structure or process which controls a function in the body. The act of fixing a piece of bone in place using wires.  

  • Window

    A small opening in the ear. An aperture for the admission of light or air or both. An approach employed to evaluate the characteristic traits exhibited by a specific botanical specimen. The phrase employed in the context of intermittent fasting to denote the temporal interval wherein the consumption of food is permissible is commonly referred…

  • Windburn

    Windburn

    Redness and inflammation of the skin caused by exposure to harsh wind. Erythema and irritation of the skin caused by exposure to wind. Simultaneous exposure to the sun, moisture, wind, and cold may cause a severe dermatitis.  

  • Willpower

    The fact of having a strong will.  

  • Widal reaction

    A test to detect typhoid fever. A sample of the person’s blood is put into a solution containing typhoid bacilli, or anti-typhoid serum is added to a sample of bacilli from the person’s faeces. If the bacilli agglutinate, i.e. form into groups, this indicates that the person has typhoid fever. [Described 1896. After Georges Fernand…