Medical glossary for healthcare interpreters

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Watchful waiting (Also called expectant

close monitoring of prostate cancer by a physician instead of immediate treatment.

Watermelon stomach

parallel red sores in the stomach that look like the stripes on a watermelon.

Wedge resection of the lung

a small, localized section of the lung is removed, often for a lung biopsy.

Whole blood

blood containing all its components, such as red and white blood cells, platelets, and more.

Xerostomia

a dry mouth condition; can be caused by a number of things, including rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, kidney failure, infection with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), drugs used to treat depression, and radiation treatment for mouth or throat cancer.

Yin and Yang

Chinese words for complementary and opposite forces that make up the life force (Qi).

Yoga

Indian word for "union;" a posturing and breathing technique to induce relaxation.

Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT)

method of treating infertility by removing eggs from a woman's ovaries, fertilizing them in the laboratory with sperm from her partner or a donor, and inserting one or more of the fertilized eggs into one of her fallopian tubes.