Debt - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014	May 31, 2014
Senior Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal amount, term loan description	The Senior Credit Facility contains i) a 5-year unsecured term loan facility in the principal amount of $3.0 billion (Term Loan)
Credit facility, maturity date	May 31, 2017
Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Estimated fair value of senior notes and term loan	$ 1,679,900,000
Term Loan [Member] \| Japan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Estimated fair value of senior notes and term loan	107,300,000
Term Loan [Member] \| Senior Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unsecured term loan, term	5 years
Credit facility, maturity term	5 years
Bridge Credit Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unsecured term loan, term	364 days
Principal amount, term loan description	The Bridge Credit Agreement is a 364-day unsecured committed bridge facility in the principal amount of $7.66 billion.
Credit facility, maturity date	Apr. 24, 2015
Credit facility, maturity term	364 days
Debt issuance costs commitment period	1 year
Multicurrency Revolving Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance costs commitment period	5 years
Multicurrency Revolving Facility [Member] \| Senior Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unsecured term loan, term	5 years
Principal amount, unsecured credit facility		$ 1,350,000,000
Credit facility, maturity date	May 31, 2019

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Period of time between issuance and maturity of debt instrument, in PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentTerm
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Date the credit facility terminates, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(b),22(b))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 19, 22

-Article 5

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityExpirationDate1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Description of long-term debt arrangements, which are debt arrangements that originally require full repayment more than twelve months after issuance or greater than the normal operating cycle of the company, if longer, and disclosures pertaining to the underlying arrangements, including repayment terms, conversion features, interest rates, restrictions on assets and activities, debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements. Types of long-term debt arrangements include borrowing under notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, term loans, and other contractual obligations for payment.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 505

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6928386&loc=d3e21475-112644

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 22

-Article 5

+ Details

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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The fair value amount of long-term debt whether such amount is presented as a separate caption or as a parenthetical disclosure. Additionally, this element may be used in connection with the fair value disclosures required in the footnote disclosures to the financial statements. The element may be used in both the balance sheet and disclosure in the same submission.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermDebtFairValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Debt Issuance Cost Commitment Period

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	zmh_DebtIssuanceCostCommitmentPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	zmh_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maturity period of loan granted.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	zmh_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration