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Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Medical Dictionary Terms Beginning with W
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Warburg apparatus
Warburg apparatus: A venerable device used in biochemistry for measuring brathing (respiration) by tissues. Tissue slices are enclosed in a chamber in which the temperature and pressure are monitored and the amount of gas produced or consumed by the tissmore detail info...
Warburg's yellow enzyme
Warburg's yellow enzyme: A key respiratory enzyme discovered by the German biochemist Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883-1970), a pioneer in research on the respiration of cells and the metabolism of tumors. Warburg's yellow enzyme is a flavoprotein that catalymore detail info...
Wart
Wart: A local growth of the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) caused by a virus. The virus of warts (a papillomavirus) is transmitted by contact. The contact can be with a wart on someone else or one on oneself (autoinnoculation). Warts thamore detail info...
Wart, genital
Wart, genital: A wart that is confined primarily to the moist skin of the genitals. These warts are due to viruses belonging to the family of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) which are transmitted through sexual contact. The virus can also be transmmore detail info...
Wart, venereal
Wart, venereal: The same as a genital wart, a wart that is confined primarily to the moist skin of the genitals. These warts are due to viruses belonging to the family of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) which are transmitted through sexual contact.more detail info...
Warts, plantar
Warts, plantar: Warts that grow on the soles of the feet. Plantar warts are different from most other warts. They tend to be flat and cause the buildup of callus (that has to be peeled away before the plantar wart itself can be seen. Plantar warts maymore detail info...
Wasp stings
Wasp stings: Stings from wasps and other large stinging insects such as bees, hornets and yellow jackets can trigger allergic reactions varying greatly in severity. Avoidance and prompt treatment are essential. In selected cases, allergy injection thermore detail info...
Water-hammer pulse
Water-hammer pulse: A pulse that is full and then suddenly collapses. This type of pulse is also called a Corrigan pulse after the Irish physician Dominic John Corrigan (1802-80) who described this finding in patients with aortic regurgitation caused bymore detail info...
Wax, ear
Wax, ear: The ear canal is shaped somewhat like an hourglass. The skin on the outer part of the canal has special glands that produce earwax. The purpose of this natural wax is to repel water and to trap dust and sand particlmore detail info...
WBC
WBC: Commonly used abbreviation for a white blood cell.more detail info...
Wegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis: An uncommon type of inflammation of small arteries and veins (vasculitis) that classically involves the vessels supplying the tissues of the lungs, nasal passages (sinuses), and kidneys. Wegener's granulomatosis usuallymore detail info...
Werner-His disease
Werner-His disease: Named for the German physician Heinrich Werner (who did not describe Werner's prematute aging syndrome) and the Swiss physician Wilhelm His, Jr. (who did describe the bundle of His in the heart), this is a louse-borne disease thmore detail info...
Western blot
Western blot: A technique in molecular biology, used to separate and identify particular proteins. Called a Western blot merely because it has some similarity to a Southern blot (which is named after its inventor, the British biologist M.E. Southern).more detail info...
White blood cells
White blood cells: White blood cells (WBCs) are cells which circulate in the blood and lymphatic system and harbor in the lymph glands and spleen. They are part of the immune system responsible for both directly (T cells and macrophages) and indirectlymore detail info...
White matter
White matter: The part of the brain that contains myelinated nerve fibers. The white matter is white because it is the color of myelin, the insulation covering the nerve fibers. The white matter is as opposed to the gray matter (the cortex of the brainmore detail info...
White spots on the nails
White spots on the nails: Very common small semi-circular white spots on the nails. These spots result from injury to the base (matrix) of the nail (the part under the visible nail) where the nail cells and the nail are produced. The injury responsiblmore detail info...
Whitmore's disease
Whitmore's disease: An infectious illness, also called melioidosis, that is most frequent in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia and is caused by a bacteria called "Pseudomonas pseudomallei" found in soil, rice paddies and stagnant waters. Humans catchmore detail info...
WHO
WHO: World Health Organization, called alternatively (in French) Organisation Mondiale de la SantΘ (OMS).more detail info...
Whooping cough
Whooping cough: Also known as pertussis, this is a feared infectious disease that can strike the respiratory system and affect other organs of the body. It has three stages—an initial stage with watery runny nose and eyes, a progressive cough stagmore detail info...
Will, living
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 make medical decmore detail info...
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