Category: W
-
Weight
How heavy someone or something is. The quality or quantity of being heavy; the amount a thing weighs. Weight is the effect of gravity, or the downward pressure of a body under the influence of gravity; therefore, weight constitutes a measure of the force of gravity. Weight is proportional to the amount of matter in…
-
Weigh
To measure how heavy something is. To have a particular weight.
-
Wegener’s granulomatosis
A disease of connective tissue, where the nasal passages, lungs and kidneys are inflamed and ulcerated, with formation of granulomas. It is usually fatal. An autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation in blood vessels and damages the walls of small and medium-sized arteries and capillaries. Wegener granulomatosis is potentially life-threatening because it can impede the blood…
-
Wechsler scales
A set of standardised scales for measuring someone’s IQ. There are three separate versions developed for different age groups.
-
Web space
The soft tissue between the bases of the fingers and toes.
-
Weber’s test
A test to see if both ears hear correctly, where a tuning fork is struck and the end placed on the head [After Friedrich Eugen Weber-Liel (1832-91), German otologist]. A hearing test in which a vibrating tuning fork is placed at the midpoint of the forehead. A normal individual hears it equally in both ears,…
-
Weber-christian disease
A type of panniculitis where the liver and spleen become enlarged [After Frederick Parkes Weber (1863-1962), British physician; Henry Asbury Christian (1876-1951), US physician]. Relapsing, febrile, nodular, non-suppur-ative panniculitis, a generalized disorder of fat metabolism characterized by recurring episodes of fever and the development of crops of subcutaneous fatty nodules.
-
Webbing
The condition of having an extra membrane of skin joining two structures in the body together. A flap of skin, such as what can develop between neighboring fingers or toes, is referred to as “webbing.” This condition, which is often hereditary and present from birth (congenital), can affect multiple digits. Mild cases of webbing are…
-
Wear off
To disappear gradually.
-
Wear and tear
The normal use which affects an organ.