Acquisitions (Details 1) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended						3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended									3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 R&D- and commercialization-based milestones [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 revenue-based payments [Member] Monte Carlo [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 revenue-based payments [Member] Discounted cash flow [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 08, 2012 twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2012 twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain] Technology-related [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain] Customer Contracts [Member]	Jan. 04, 2011 Sadra Medical Inc [Member]	Jan. 05, 2011 Intelect Medical Inc [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 2011 Acquisitions [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 2011 Acquisitions [Member]	Jan. 05, 2011 2011 Acquisitions [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] R&D- and commercialization-based milestones [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] revenue-based payments [Member] Monte Carlo [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] revenue-based payments [Member] Discounted cash flow [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] R&D- and commercialization-based milestones [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] revenue-based payments [Member] Monte Carlo [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] revenue-based payments [Member] Discounted cash flow [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Purchased research and development [Member] twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2011 Low end of range [Member] Technology-related [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Low end of range [Member] twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2011 Low end of range [Member] Purchased research and development [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 High end of range [Member] Technology-related [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 High end of range [Member] twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2011 High end of range [Member] Purchased research and development [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Japan [Member] twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2012 Japan [Member] 2011 Acquisitions [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Segment, Geographical, Groups of Countries, Group Two [Member] twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2012 Segment, Geographical, Groups of Countries, Group Two [Member] 2011 Acquisitions [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Segment, Geographical, Groups of Countries, Group One [Member] twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2012 Segment, Geographical, Groups of Countries, Group One [Member] 2011 Acquisitions [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 United States [Member] twenty twelve acquisitions [Domain]	Jun. 30, 2012 United States [Member] 2011 Acquisitions [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated Total Cost To Complete In Process Research And Development Programs Acquired																										$ 30,000,000			$ 50,000,000
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration Arrangements, Change in Amount of Contingent Consideration, Liability	1,000,000	7,000,000	11,000,000	13,000,000
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired										134,000,000			193,000,000	60,000,000	370,000,000
Pre-acquisition equity interest													14.00%	15.00%
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired													86.00%	85.00%
Business Acquisition, Contingent Consideration, at Fair Value					287,000,000	169,000,000	259,000,000	195,000,000		259,000,000					(287,000,000)
Estimated fair value of prior equity ownership interest in Sadra and Intelect										79,000,000					55,000,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Notes Payable and Long-term Debt										9,000,000
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Purchase Price										481,000,000					712,000,000
Gain On Transactions									39,000,000							38,000,000
Risk-adjusted discount rate for contingent consideration																		3.00%		20.00%	1.20%		12.00%
contingent consideration liability, probability of payment							95.00%											85.00%		100.00%	50.00%		65.00%
contingent consideration liability, projected year of payment																		2017	2018	2018	2013	2013	2012
Allocation of purchase price to various intangible asset categories
Amortizable intangible assets										41,000,000	39,000,000	2,000,000			97,000,000
Indefinite-lived intangible assets										46,000,000					470,000,000									46,000,000
Business Acquisition, Purchse Price Allocation, Net Intangible Assets									87,000,000						567,000,000
Weighted Average Amortization Period (in years)											0	0			7.4
Range Of Risk Adjusted Discount Rates Used In Purchase Price Allocation											14.00%	14.00%												14.00%	22.60%		23.60%	25.00%		30.00%
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Other Noncurrent Assets										3,000,000
Allocation of goodwill acquired to reportable segments
Goodwill									315,000,000	315,000,000					266,000,000																7,000,000	1,000,000	27,000,000	5,000,000	97,000,000	99,000,000	184,000,000	161,000,000
Estimated Total Cost To Complete In Process Research And Development Programs Acquired, low end of range															250,000,000
Estimated Total Cost To Complete In Process Research And Development Programs Acquired, high end of range															300,000,000
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Fair Value																	55,000,000
Contingent payment related to business combination	1,000,000	0	4,000,000	0
Deferred income taxes										$ 76,000,000					$ (121,000,000)