# medical abbreviation WM **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001 "2012-09-27T12:16:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/1 "2012-09-27T12:16:53Z")
In the context of medical imaging- x-rays, etc. does anyone here know what WM would be? I have XR for x-ray, CT for cat scan, US for ultrasound, MR for magnetic resonance and NM for nuclear medicine. But I’m drawing a blank on WM. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/2 "2012-09-27T12:21:53Z")
[Wall motion](http://www.cedars-sinai.edu/Patients/Programs-and-Services/Heart-Institute/Diagnostic-Procedures/Nuclear-Imaging/Wall-Motion-Tests.aspx) tests? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/3 "2012-09-27T17:41:21Z")
White Male? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/4 "2012-09-27T20:04:13Z")
I concur, it usually means White Male. At least that’s the default assumption, and it’s the most common use by far for that one. For imaging, could mean White Matter, meaning part of the brain structure. Or Widened Mediastinum. Less likely but not rare uses include Wet Mount (a type of sample preparation technique for looking at various body secretions, chiefly vaginal, under the microscope) or Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia. Could also be Western Medicine. Or just peruse this site: [http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalabbreviations.php](http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalabbreviations.php) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/5 "2012-09-27T20:21:01Z")
Is there anything before or after it that you’re willing to share in public? If it’s something like “WM, 38” than it’s almost certainly “white male, 38 years old” [Insert my own rant about the non-standardization of abbreviations in medical documents here.] ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/6 "2012-09-27T20:25:05Z")
Is the handwritting sloppy? Could the W be a poorly written N? That would fit in with NM. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/7 "2012-09-27T21:35:26Z")
Or a sloppy “WNL”, which is “Within Normal Limits”, meaning that nothing’s wrong with that particular body part/lab value/test result. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/8 "2012-09-27T23:36:58Z")
It’s all medical images. It’s printed so handwriting isn’t an issue. The format starts with the two-letter code then what part is being imaged, e.g. “US Breast” or “XR Cervical”. There’s even a code SP which I presume means “Special” because it usually prefixes various specialty \*ograms. And for what it’s worth, the ones that say WM are for all different parts of the body and refer to what look like standard x-rays. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/9 "2012-09-28T00:33:21Z")
Wow! Marvelous! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/10 "2012-09-28T00:44:00Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > “US Breast” That must be one large booby. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/11 "2012-09-28T02:13:14Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Or a sloppy “WNL”, which is “Within Normal Limits”, meaning that nothing’s wrong with that particular body part/lab value/test result. alternatively, ‘we never looked’. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-abbreviation-wm/636001/12 "2012-09-28T03:34:37Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > alternatively, ‘we never looked’. _snicker_ I like that!