Financial Instruments - Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Apr. 03, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Other selected financial assets
Total selected financial assets		$ 33,705	$ 38,157
Other selected financial liabilities
Short-term borrowings, carried at historical proceeds, as adjusted	[1]	11,546	10,159
Long-term debt, carried at historical proceeds, as adjusted	[1]	27,824	28,740
Total selected financial liabilities		41,122	40,608
Reported Value Measurement [Member]
Other selected financial assets
Held-to-maturity debt securities, carried at amortized cost	[2],[3]	1,065	1,388
Private equity securities, carried at equity-method or at cost	[3],[4]	1,250	1,336
Total		2,315	2,724
Other selected financial liabilities
Short-term borrowings, carried at historical proceeds, as adjusted	[3],[5],[6]	11,546	10,159
Long-term debt, carried at historical proceeds, as adjusted	[5],[6],[7]	27,824	28,740
Total	[5]	39,370	38,899
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure [Abstract]
Trading funds	[8],[9]	260	287
Selected financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis	[10]	31,391	35,433
Selected financial liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis
Derivative financial instruments in a liability position	[9],[11]	1,752	1,709
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Interest Rate Swaps [Member]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure [Abstract]
Derivative financial instruments in a receivable position	[10]	1,433	837
Selected financial liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis
Derivative financial instruments in a liability position	[9],[11]	9	139
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Foreign Currency Swap [Member]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure [Abstract]
Derivative financial instruments in a receivable position	[10]	103	135
Selected financial liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis
Derivative financial instruments in a liability position	[9],[11]	1,311	1,489
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Foreign Currency Forward-Exchange Contracts [Member]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure [Abstract]
Derivative financial instruments in a receivable position	[10]	333	559
Selected financial liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis
Derivative financial instruments in a liability position	[9],[11]	432	81
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Debt Securities [Member]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure [Abstract]
Available-for-sale securities	[2],[9]	27,819	32,078
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Money Market Funds [Member]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure [Abstract]
Available-for-sale securities	[9]	947	934
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity Securities [Member]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure [Abstract]
Available-for-sale securities	[2],[9]	$ 497	$ 603

[1] Amounts may not add due to rounding.

[2] Gross unrealized gains and losses are not significant.

[3] Short-term borrowings include foreign currency short-term borrowings with fair values of $547 million as of December 31, 2015, which are used as hedging instruments. The differences between the estimated fair values and carrying values of held-to-maturity debt securities, private equity securities at cost and short-term borrowings not measured at fair value on a recurring basis were not significant as of April 3, 2016 or December 31, 2015. The fair value measurements of our held-to-maturity debt securities and our short-term borrowings are based on Level 2 inputs, using a market approach. The fair value measurements of our private equity securities carried at cost are based on Level 3 inputs.

[4] Our private equity securities represent investments in the life sciences sector.

[5] Some carrying amounts may include adjustments for discount or premium amortization or for the effect of hedging the interest rate fair value risk associated with certain financial liabilities by interest rate swaps.

[6] We adopted a new standard as of January 1, 2016 that changed the presentation of debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability as a direct deduction from the carrying value of that associated debt, consistent with the presentation of a debt discount. The update does not impact the measurement or recognition of debt issuance costs. As of April 3, 2016, debt issuance costs are $76 million and are presented as contra-liabilities to Short-term borrowings, including current portion of long-term debt ($1 million) and Long-term debt ($75 million). In the December 31, 2015 condensed consolidated balance sheet, we have reclassified debt issuance costs of $79 million ($1 million from Other current assets and $79 million from Other noncurrent assets) and have presented them as contra-liabilities to Short-term borrowings, including current portion of long-term debt ($1 million) and Long-term debt ($79 million) to conform to the current period presentation.

[7] The fair value of our long-term debt (not including the current portion of long-term debt) was $31.8 billion as of April 3, 2016 and $32.7 billion as of December 31, 2015. The fair value measurements for our long-term debt are based on Level 2 inputs, using a market approach. Generally, the difference between the fair value of our long-term debt and the amount reported on the condensed consolidated balance sheet is due to a decline in relative market interest rates since the debt issuance.

[8] As of April 3, 2016, trading funds are composed of $204 million of trading equity funds and $56 million of trading debt funds. As of December 31, 2015, trading funds are composed of $185 million of trading equity funds and $102 million of trading debt funds. As of April 3, 2016 and December 31, 2015, trading equity funds of $65 million and $85 million, respectively, are held in trust for benefits attributable to the former Pharmacia Savings Plus Plan.

[9] We use a market approach in valuing financial instruments on a recurring basis. For additional information, see Note 1C. All of our financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis use Level 2 inputs in the calculation of fair value, except less than 1% that use Level 1 inputs and money market funds measured at net asset value.

[10] Designated as hedging instruments, except for certain contracts used as offsets; namely, foreign currency forward-exchange contracts with fair values of $144 million as of April 3, 2016; and foreign currency forward-exchange contracts with fair values of $136 million as of December 31, 2015.

[11] Designated as hedging instruments, except for certain contracts used as offsets; namely, foreign currency swaps with fair values of $188 million and foreign currency forward-exchange contracts with fair values of $117 million as of April 3, 2016; and foreign currency swaps with fair values of $234 million and foreign currency forward-exchange contracts with fair values of $59 million as of December 31, 2015.