| Williams, J | <person> 20th century New Zealand cardiologist. See: Williams syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| Williams-Beurer syndrome | idiopathic hypercalcaemia of infants |
| Williamson, Carl | <person> U.S. Surgeon, 1896-1952. See: Mann-Williamson operation, Mann-Williamson ulcer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| willing | 1. Free to do or to grant; having the mind inclined; not opposed in mind; not choosing to refuse; disposed; not averse; desirous; consenting; complying; ready. "Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound." (Acts xxiv. 27) "With wearied wings and willing feet." (Milton) "[Fruit] shaken in August from the willing boughs." (Bryant) 2. Received of choice, or without reluctance; submitted to voluntarily; chosen; desired. "[They] are held, with his melodious harmony, In willing chains and sweet captivity." (Milton) 3. Spontaneous; self-moved. "No spouts of blood run willing from a tree." (Dryden) Origin: From Will. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Willis' centrum nervosum | The largest and highest group of prevertebral sympathetic ganglia, located on the superior part of the abdominal aorta, on either side of the origin of the coeliac artery; contains sympathetic neurons whose unmyelinated postganglionic axons innervate the stomach, liver, gallbladder, spleen, kidney, small intestine, and ascending and transverse colon. H Synonym: ganglia coeliaca, semilunar ganglion, solar ganglia, Vieussens' ganglia, Willis' centrum nervosum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Willis' cords | Several fibrous cord's crossing the superior sagittal sinus. Synonym: chordae willisii. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Willis' pancreas | A portion of the head of the pancreas that hooks around posterior to the superior mesenteric vessels, sometimes into the "nutcracker" formed by the superior mesenteric artery and abdominal aorta. Synonym: processus uncinatus pancreatis, lesser pancreas, pancreas minus, small pancreas, uncinate pancreas, unciform pancreas, Willis' pancreas, Winslow's pancreas. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Willis' paracusis | <otolaryngology> The apparent increase in auditory acuity of a deaf person to conversation in noisy surroundings due to his companion unconsciously raising his voice. Synonym: Willis' paracusis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Willis' pouch | An obsolete term for lesser omentum (05 Mar 2000) |
| Willis, Thomas | <person> English physician, 1621-1675. See: Willis' centrum nervosum, Willis' cords, Willis' pancreas, Willis' paracusis, Willis' pouch, circle of Willis, accessorius willisii, chordae willisii. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Williston's law | As the vertebrate scale is ascended, the number of bones in the skull is reduced. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Williston, Samuel Wendell | <person> U.S. Paleontologist, 1852-1918. See: Williston's law. (05 Mar 2000) |
| willock | <zoology> The common guillemot. The puffin. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| willow | 1. <botany> Any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, including many species, most of which are characterised often used as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. "A wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight." . Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the person beloved, is said to wear the willow. "And I must wear the willow garland For him that's dead or false to me." (Campbell) 2. A machine in which cotton or wool is opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded with similar spikes; probably so called from having been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods, though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Synonym: willy, twilly, twilly devil, and devil. Almond willow, Pussy willow, Weeping willow. <botany> A very small European warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus). Synonym: bee bird, haybird, golden wren, pettychaps, sweet William, Tom Thumb, and willow wren. Origin: OE. Wilowe, wilwe, AS. Wilig, welig; akin to OD. Wilge, D. Wilg, LG. Wilge. Cf. Willy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| willow wattle | <botany, ecology> A living, permeable barrier made of willow stems set into the ground with willow branches woven around the stems, used to reduce erosion on steep banks or to act as a check dam in a stream. (09 Oct 1997) |