25,729 articles
Woolly hair-palmoplantar keratoderma syndrome
Woolly hair-palmoplantar keratoderma syndrome (KWWH type IV, OMIM 616099) is a very rare autosomal recessive KANK2-related disorder with woolly sparse hair, leukonychia, and striate palmoplantar keratoderma, without cardiomyopathy.
Word salad
Word salad (schizophasia): severely disorganized, incomprehensible speech, the extreme end of formal thought disorder, seen mainly in schizophrenia but also in mania, drug intoxication, and organic brain disorders; quantified by speech-connectedness measures.
Work Capacity Evaluation
Work capacity evaluation, also called functional capacity evaluation (FCE), assesses physiological and functional capacities against job demands via graded work tests; used for return-to-work, disability, and medico-legal decisions.
Work of Breathing
Work of breathing (WOB, Wb): mechanical work respiratory muscles expend to overcome elastic and resistive loads, measured via esophageal pressure–volume loops (Campbell diagram); resting values 2.4–4 J/min; method-dependent.
Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance (WLB) is the state of engaging effectively in both work and nonwork life with minimal conflict between their social roles, linked to job satisfaction, performance, and well-being.
Workload
Workload is the total amount of work an individual, department, or team must carry out in a given period, and the fit between those demands and available capacity.
Workplace
Workplace: the place or physical location of work or employment (MeSH D017132, 1993). Covers offices, factories, and remote settings; central to occupational health, safety law, and hybrid work arrangements.
Workplace health & safety
Workplace Health & Safety (WH&S), also AAOHN Journal, is the monthly peer-reviewed official journal of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, published by Sage since 2015, Scopus Q1, CiteScore 3.9, ISSNs 2165-0799 and 2165-0969.
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed 1 December since 1988, is the first international day for global health, created by WHO officers Thomas Netter and James Bunn; marked with red ribbons, annual themes, and UNAIDS-led campaigns against HIV/AIDS.
World Blood Donor Day
World Blood Donor Day is a World Health Organization-sponsored awareness day held each 14 June, first observed in 2004, honoring voluntary unpaid blood donors; the date marks Karl Landsteiner's birthday.
World Cancer Day
World Cancer Day, observed every 4 February, is a UICC-led global awareness day created by the 2000 Charter of Paris; its 2025-2027 theme is United by Unique, with 1,000+ activities in 89 countries in 2026.
World Federation for Mental Health
The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1948 that promotes mental health and organizes World Mental Health Day.
World Federation of Hemophilia
World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), founded June 25, 1963 in Copenhagen by Frank Schnabel, is a non-profit federation of 122 national member organizations improving care for people with inherited bleeding disorders through treatment guidelines, humanitarian aid, and advocacy.
World Health Organization
World Health Organization (WHO), UN specialized health agency founded 1948, Geneva; governed by World Health Assembly and Director-General Tedros; funded under 20% by dues; eradicated smallpox 1980; United States withdrew 22 January 2026.
World Health Organization ranking of health systems in 2000
WHO's 2000 ranking of health systems, from The World Health Report 2000, scored 191 member states on five indicators; France ranked 1st, Italy 2nd, the US 37th, and the exercise drew heavy methodological criticism.
World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe), one of WHO's six regional offices, serves 53 Member States from Copenhagen; governed by the annual Regional Committee, led by Regional Director Hans Kluge, and implements the European Programme of Work.
World journal of surgery
The World Journal of Surgery is a monthly peer-reviewed general surgery journal published since 1977 as the official journal of the International Society of Surgery, currently issued by Wiley.
World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day, held every 10 October since 1992, was established by the World Federation for Mental Health and is marked by WHO campaigns with annual themes; the 2026 theme is lived experience.
World No Tobacco Day
World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is WHO's annual 31 May observance, created in 1987, with yearly themes such as Unmasking the Appeal targeting flavoured products and youth nicotine addiction.
World Stroke Day
World Stroke Day, October 29, founded by the World Stroke Organization in 2006; annual themed campaigns (#Precioustime, #GreaterThan, Every Minute Counts/#ActFAST) promoting FAST stroke symptom recognition, emergency response, prevention, and stroke care advocacy worldwide.
World Stroke Organization
The World Stroke Organization (WSO), founded in 2006, unites stroke professionals and national societies worldwide; the WHO recognizes it as the leading authority on stroke.
World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day, observed 10 September since 2003, is organized by IASP and co-sponsored by WHO to raise awareness that suicide is preventable; themes include Creating Hope Through Action and Changing the Narrative on Suicide.
World Water Day
World Water Day is a UN observance held every 22 March since 1993, coordinated by UN-Water, raising awareness of the global water crisis and supporting SDG 6, with annual themes such as Water and Gender (2026).
Wormian bones
Wormian bones (sutural bones, Ossa suturalia) are small irregular accessory bones forming within cranial sutures and fontanelles, most often the lambdoid suture; usually benign, but numerous ones mark osteogenesis imperfecta and craniosynostosis.
Worster-Drought syndrome
Worster-Drought syndrome, or congenital suprabulbar paresis, is a cerebral palsy variant, described by Cecil Worster-Drought in 1956, that weakens the mouth and throat muscles from birth.
Wound
Wound: a disruption of tissue integrity from trauma, surgery, or disease; acute wounds heal through hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling, while chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers stall; dressing evidence is weak.
Wound Closure Techniques
Wound closure techniques are the methods used to repair breaks in tissue caused by trauma or to close surgical incisions, using sutures, staples, wound tape, and tissue adhesives.
Wound myiasis
Wound myiasis, or traumatic myiasis, is infestation of open wounds or ulcers by dipterous fly larvae, mainly screwworms (Cochliomyia hominivorax, Chrysomya bezziana) and blowflies; treated by larval removal and debridement.
Wright–Giemsa stain
Wright–Giemsa stain (Wright-Giemsa) is a combined Romanowsky-type stain used in hematology and cytology, staining cell nuclei purple and cytoplasm blue on blood and bone marrow smears.
Wrinkle
Wrinkle (rhytid): visible skin crease from aging, UV exposure, smoking, and expression; classified fine vs coarse and atrophic, elastotic, expressional, gravitational; treated with retinoids, botulinum toxin, fillers, lasers.