Medications

Viral myocarditis: See: Myocarditis, viral.Last Editorial Review: 6/10/2003Myocarditis, viral: Inflammation of the muscles in the walls of the heart due to a viral infection. Among the offenders are dozen of different common viruses, including the ...

Weaver's bottom - Medical

Weaver's bottom: Inflammation of the bursa that separates the gluteus maximus muscle of the buttocks from the underlying bony prominence of the bone that we sit on, the ischial tuberosity. Weaver's bottom is a form of bursitis that is usually caused ...

Viral infection - Medical

Viral infection: Infection caused by the presence of a virus in the body. Depending on the virus and the person's state of health, various viruses can infect almost any type of body tissue, from the brain to the skin. Viral infections cannot...

Viral hepatitis - Medical

Viral hepatitis: Viral hepatitis is liver inflammation caused by viruses. Specific hepatitis viruses have been labeled A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. While other viruses can also cause hepatitis, their primary target is not the liver.Last Editorial Revie...

Weasand - Medical

Weasand: 1. The windpipe ( trachea). 2. More loosely, the throat. "Cut his weasand with thy knife." The Tempest, Shakespeare. Weasand is from the Middle English wesand and the Old High German weisunt meaning windpipe. Sometimes written wesand or w...

WDWN - Medical

WDWN: Abbreviation for "well developed, well nourished" used by doctors as shorthand when jotting down the results of their physical examination. For example, a WDWNWF = well developed, well nourished white female; WDWNBF = well developed, wel...

Viral hemorrhagic fever - Medical

Viral hemorrhagic fever: A syndrome caused by infection with one of a number of viruses that can cause increased permeability of the blood vessels resulting in bleeding into the skin, internally, or from the mouth or other orifices. The bleeding is u...

WBS - Medical

WBS: Wiedemann-Beckwith syndrome. See: Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.Last Editorial Review: 6/1/2004 Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome: An overgrowth syndrome, whose clinical manifestations typically include macrosomia (large body size), macroglossia (large...

WBC - Medical

WBC: Commonly used abbreviation for a white blood cell. WBC also stands for the white blood cell count which is the number of white blood cells in a volume of blood. Normal range varies slightly between laboratories but is generally between 4...

Viral encephalitis - Medical

Viral encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain as a result of virus infection. There are many viruses that cause viral encephalitis.Last Editorial Review: 3/19/2001 6:26:00 PM...

Viral - Medical

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, "My daughter has a viral rash." Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Medical Author: Alan Rockoff, MD ...

Wax, ear - Medical

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 particles. Usually a small am...

Vinyl chloride - Medical

Vinyl chloride: A substance used in manufacturing plastics that is known to be toxic and carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Dangerous exposure to vinyl chloride occurs mainly in the workplace. Breathing high levels of vinyl chloride for short periods of ...

Wax dip - Medical

Wax dip: A treatment for the symptoms of joint and muscle conditions, such as arthritis, that consists of melted mineral wax derived from petroleum applied to a body area. Wax dips can be especially helpful in relieving the pain and stiffness of art...

Watson, James - Medical

Watson, James: American biologist (1928-) who, with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, shared the 1962 Nobel prize in Medicine and Physiology, "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for informa...

Vincent stomatitis - Medical

Vincent stomatitis: This is trench mouth, a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including fusiform bact...

Vincent infection - Medical

Vincent infection: This is trench mouth, a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including fusiform bacter...

Watson - Medical

Watson: See: Watson, James.Last Editorial Review: 5/28/2004 Watson, James: American biologist (1928-) who, with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, shared the 1962 Nobel prize in Medicine and Physiology, "for their discoveries concerning the molecul...

Vincent gingivitis - Medical

Vincent gingivitis: This is trench mouth, a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including fusiform...

Watermelon stomach - Medical

Watermelon stomach: Parallel red sores in the stomach that look like the stripes on a watermelon. Frequently seen with cirrhosis of the liver.Last Editorial Review: 3/14/2004 Cirrhosis: An abnormal liver condition characterized by irreversible sca...

Vincent angina - Medical

Vincent angina: This is trench mouth, a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including fusiform bac...

Watermelon - Medical

Watermelon: A fruit of African origin that is, in reality, a vegetable related to cucumbers and squash. Watermelon is 92% water and 8% sugar. It is rich in lypocene, an antioxidant that gives it its characteristic color. It is fat free. Last Edito...

Vinca alkaloid - Medical

Vinca alkaloid: A medication in a class of anticancer drugs that inhibit cancer cell growth by stopping cell division ( mitosis). The vinca alkaloids are also called antimitotic or antimicrotubule agents, or mitotic inhibitors. They were originally d...

Waterborne bacterial disease - Medical

Waterborne bacterial disease: An illness due to infection with bacteria contaminating the water supply. Waterborne bacterial diseases cause a wide range of syndromes including: acute dehydrating diarrhea ( cholera), prolonged febrile illness with...

Villus, intestinal - Medical

Villus, intestinal: See: Intestinal villus.Last Editorial Review: 4/13/2004 Intestinal villus: A tiny projection from the surface of the small intestine which helps absorb nutrients and fluids.Last Editorial Review: 4/13/2004...

Villus - Medical

Villus: 1. A tiny finger-like or hair-like projection. 2. A small vascular protrusion. Villus is the Latin word for shaggy hair or fleece. The plural is villi. Last Editorial Review: 4/10/2004...

Water retention - Medical

Water retention: A nonspecific term meaning the accumulation of excess fluids in body tissues, medically known as edema. Edema can result from many different disease processes, including but not limited to diseases of the heart and circulation a...

Villi - Medical

Villi: Plural of villus, a tiny finger-like or vascular projection. Last Editorial Review: 4/10/2004 Villus: 1. A tiny finger-like or hair-like projection. 2. A small vascular protrusion. Villus is the Latin word for shaggy hair or fleece. Th...

Water requirements, infant - Medical

Water requirements, infant: Water is an important part of a baby's diet because water makes up a large proportion of the baby's body. When properly prepared, all infant formulas are approximately 85% water. Infant formulas are available in three for...

VIG - Medical

VIG: Vaccinia immune globulin.Last Editorial Review: 11/16/2002 Vaccinia immune globulin: A blood product rich in antibodies against vaccinia, the virus in the smallpox vaccine. Vaccinia immune globulin (VIG) is the only known antidote to the co...