Will, living
An advance medical directive that specifies what types of medical treatment are desired. A living will can be very specific or very general. The most common statement in a living will requests that if the patient suffers an incurable, irreversible illness
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- Williams syndrome
A genetic disorder characterized by mild mental retardation, unique personality characteristics, unusual facial features, and cardiovascular disease. The level of calcium tends to be high in blood (hypercalcemia) and urine (hypercalciuria). Mental retardation is the rule and ranges from severe to mild. Personality features include overfriendliness, general anxiety, and attention deficit disorder. Facial features include […]
- Willis, circle of
A critical arterial circle at the base of the brain. The circle of Willis receives all the blood that is pumped up the two internal carotid arteries that come up the front of the neck. All the principal arteries that supply the two halves of the brain (hemispheres) branch off from the circle of Willis.
- Wilms tumor
A childhood form of kidney cancer with a peak age of occurrence at 3 years of age. It is sometimes associated with abnormalities of the urinary tracts or other birth defects. Some cases are related to defects in one of two genes referred to as Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) or Wilms’ tumor 2 (WT2). Symptoms […]
- Wilson disease
An inherited disorder of copper metabolism that results in an abnormal accumulation of copper in the body. Although the accumulation of copper begins at birth, symptoms of the disorder do not appear until later in life, between the ages of 6 and 40. A diagnostic feature of the disease is a Kayser-Fleischer ring, a deep […]
- Wimmin
Women. A late 20th century creation. A feminist spelling to avoid the suffix men.