Income Taxes Rate Reconciliation (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Reconciliation [Line Items]
Tax Cuts And Jobs Act of 2017, Transition Tax		$ 117	$ 1,250
Tax Cuts And Jobs Act of 2017, Remeasurement of Deferred Taxes due to Change In Tax Rate			(1,060)
Tax Cuts And Jobs Act of 2017, Income Tax Expense (Benefit)		$ 68	$ 204
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Amount [Abstract]
Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate		21.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Provision for Income Taxes at Statutory Rate		$ 685	$ 850	$ 708
Foreign rate differential		(375)	(380)	(322)
Foreign exchange loss on inter-company debt refinancing			(237)
Income tax credits		(349)	(273)	(318)
Manufacturing deduction			(42)	(38)
Withholding taxes		31	55
Global intangible low-taxed income		167
Foreign-derived intangible income		(47)
Singapore tax holiday		(28)	(25)	(23)
Impact of change in tax laws and apportionment on deferred taxes		(12)	(1,121)	2
Transition tax and other initial impacts of U.S. tax reform		117	1,250
(Reversal of) provision for tax reserves, net		(49)	99	12
Excess tax benefits from stock options and restricted stock units		(77)	(65)
Tax return reassessments and settlements		(26)	8	(41)
Valuation allowance		260	7	0
Other, net		27	75	19
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes		324	201	(1)
US foreign tax credits generated by repatriation of foreign earnings			86	91
US Income taxes on repatriated foreign earnings			53	37
Excess income tax benefits from stock-based compensation plans recognized in equity				53
Income Tax Holiday [Line Items]
Change in Enacted Tax Rate, Amount		$ (12)	$ (1,121)	$ 2
Singapore
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Amount [Abstract]
Impact of change in tax laws and apportionment on deferred taxes	$ (65)
Income Tax Holiday [Line Items]
Income Tax Holiday, Termination Date		12/31/2026
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Tax Holiday, Percent		0.90%	1.00%	1.10%
Income Tax Holiday, Income Tax Benefits Per Share		$ 0.07	$ 0.06	$ 0.06
Change in Enacted Tax Rate, Amount	$ (65)
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Change in Enacted Tax Rate, Per Diluted Share	$ 0.16
Credits Generated Due To Tax Planning Initiatives, Sweden [Member]
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Amount [Abstract]
US foreign tax credits generated by repatriation of foreign earnings			$ 20	$ 100
Disposal Group, Held-for-sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member] | Anatomical Pathology business [Member]
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Amount [Abstract]
Valuation allowance		$ 71