jaundice
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GC: n

S: DWB – http://msf-seasia.org/blogs/17071 (last access: 4 November 2016); WHO – http://apps.who.int/rhl/newborn/reviews/cd004592/en/index.html (last access: 9 November 2016); MNT – http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165749.php (last access: 4 November 2016).

N: 1. The modern English word “jaundice” is derived from the middle French word jaunisse. Jaun(e) means “yellow” and -isse means “-ness”; hence the middle French word jaunisse, which means “yellowness”.

2. Jaundice, excess accumulation of bile pigments in the bloodstream and bodily tissues that causes a yellow to orange and sometimes even greenish discoloration of the skin, the whites of the eyes, and the mucous membranes.

3. The degree of coloration depends on the concentration of bile pigment (bilirubin) in the blood, its rate of tissue diffusion, and the absorption and binding of bilirubin by the tissue. Bilirubin enters the tissue fluids and is absorbed more readily at sites of inflammation and edema (abnormal accumulation of fluids in the tissues).

4. There are three main types of jaundice:

  1. Hepatocellular jaundice that is a type of jaundice that occurs as a result of liver disease or injury.
  2. Hemolytic jaundice that is a type of jaundice that occurs as a result of hemolysis (an accelerated breakdown of erythrocytes – red blood cells) leading to an increase in production of bilirubin.
  3. Obstructive jaundice that is a type of jaundice that occurs as a result of an obstruction in the bile duct (a system of tubes that carries bile from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine), which prevents bilirubin from leaving the liver.

5. Newborns could have physiological jaundice. When the baby is growing in the mother’s womb, the placenta removes bilirubin from the baby’s body. After birth, the baby’s liver starts doing this job. It may take some time for the baby’s liver to be able to do this efficiently. Physiological jaundic is often most noticeable when the baby is 2 to 4 days old. Most of the time it does not cause problems and goes away within 2 weeks.
6. Difference between Jaundice and Yellow Fever: Jaundice refers to a medical condition in which skin, membranes and body secretions become yellowish due to access of the pigment called as bilirubin in the blood. Yellow fever is a type of viral infection that is transmitted by a bite from infected mosquitoes(especially in South America and in some parts of Africa). it causes a high fever, bleeding into the skin and the death of cells in the liver and kidney. This liver damage can result into severe jaundice, and this is the reason it has been named as “yellow fever”.

S: 1. MNT – http://goo.gl/GFIdN9 (last access: 4 November 2016). 2 & 3. EncBritGB – http://goo.gl/Iz70ro (last access: 4 November 2016). 4. MNT – http://goo.gl/GFIdN9 (last access: 4 November 2016). 5 MEDLP – http://goo.gl/m9fNvn (last access: 4 November 2016). 6. DB – http://goo.gl/Bi0pZe (last access: 4 November 2016). 7. TFD – http://goo.gl/DobQbm (last access: 4 November 2016).

SYN: icterus (context)

S: MNT – http://goo.gl/GFIdN9 (last access: 4 November 2016); TERMIUM PLUS – http://goo.gl/nzse4z (last access: 9 November 2016).

CR: bilirubin