W

Wernicke’s area (VER-nĭk-ĕ AR-ē-ă):

Region at the posterior end of the lateral sulcus in which speech comprehension is localized.

wheal and flare response:

A soft, pale swelling at the site surrounded by a red zone. (A wheal is also known as a “hive”).

white matter (hwīt MAT-ĕr):

Regions of the nervous system containing mostly myelinated axons, making the tissue appear white because of the high lipid content of myelin.

word root:

The foundational meaning of a word.

Attribution

Except where otherwise noted, this book is adapted from Medical Terminology by Grimm et al. (2022), Nicolet College, CC BY 4.0 International. / A derivative of Building a Medical Terminology Foundation by Carter & Rutherford (2020), and Anatomy and Physiology by Betts, et al., CC BY 4.0, which can be accessed for free at OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology.