Jaundice Glossary of Terms

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Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness, dulling pain to permit s...

Antiviral: An agent that kills a virus or that suppresses its ability to replicate and, he...

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Bile: Bile is a yellow-green fluid that is made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder a...

Bilirubin: A yellow-orange compound that is produced by the breakdown of hemoglobin from r...

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

Blood clot: A mass of coagulated blood. A blood clot can block a major blood vessel, causi...

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

Blood group: An inherited feature on the surface of the red blood cells. A series of relat...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Breast milk: Milk from the breast. Human milk contains a balance of nutrients that close...

Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk. According to the American Academy of Ped...

Bruise: Injury of the soft tissues that results in breakage of the local capillaries and l...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. Ex...

CBC: A commonly used abbreviation in medicine that stands for complete blood count, a set...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Cholangitis: Inflammation of the bile duct. From cholangi-, pertaining to a bile duct + -i...

Cholescintigraphy: A diagnostic test in which a two-dimensional picture of a radiation sou...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Cirrhosis: Liver disease characterized by irreversible scarring. Alcohol and viral hepatit...

Complete blood count: A set values of the cellular (formed elements) of blood. These meas...

Computerized tomography: Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that...

Congenital: A condition that is present at birth, whether or not it is inherited.

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Discharge: 1.The flow of fluid from part of the body, such as from the nose or vag...

Duct: A walled passageway, such as a lymph duct, that carries fluid from one place to anot...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Endoscope: A lighted optical instrument that is used to get a deep look inside the body. A...

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: Abbreviated ERCP. A procedure done to diag...

ERCP: Endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography, a diagnostic procedure used to exam...

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

Fever: Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degr...

G6PD deficiency: Deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the mo...

Gallbladder: A pear-shaped organ located below the liver that stores the bile secreted by ...

Gallstones: Stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones can be as smal...

Gastroenterologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases...

Gastroenterology: The medical specialty devoted to the study, diagnosis and treatment of d...

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. He...

Hemolysis: The destruction of red blood cells which leads to the release of hemoglobin fro...

Hepatic: Having to do with the liver.

Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver, irrespective of the cause. Hepatitis is caused by a ...

Hepatitis A: Inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). HAV is usua...

Hepatitis B: Inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), once thought t...

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. Also commonly ...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Injury: Harm or hurt. To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emot...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion...

Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on ...

Jaundice: Yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally h...

Kernicterus: A disorder that is due to severe jaundice in the newborn, with deposition of ...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Liver biopsy: A procedure in which a small sample of the liver is removed for the diagnosi...

Liver transplant: Surgery to remove a diseased liver and replace it with a healthy liver (...

Magnetic resonance imaging: A procedure that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer t...

Malaria: An infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites from the Plasmodium family th...

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within a living organism. ...

Molecule: The smallest unit of a substance that can exist alone and retain the character o...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Mucous: Pertaining to mucus, a thick fluid produced by the lining of some tissues of the b...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neonatal: Pertaining to the newborn period, specifically the first 4 weeks after birth.

Neonatal jaundice: Yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the newborn's eyes (sc...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Pancreas: A spongy, tube-shaped organ that is about 6 inches long and is located in the ba...

Pancreatic: Having to do with the pancreas.

Pancreatitis: Inflammation of the pancreas. Of the many causes of pancreatitis, the most c...

Pathologic: 1. Indicative of or caused by disease, as in a pathologic fracture, pat...

Pathologist: A physician who identifies diseases and conditions by studying abnormal cells...

Phototherapy: Treatment with light. For example, a newborn with jaundice may be put under ...

Physiologic: Something that is normal, that is due neither to anything pathologic nor sign...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances a...

Recur: To occur again; to return. For example, a symptom, sign, or disease can recur.

Red blood cell: The blood cell that carries oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Regimen: A plan or a regulated course, such as a diet, exercise, or treatment, that is des...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Small intestine: The part of the digestive tract that extends from the stomach to the larg...

Spleen: An organ that is located in the upper-left part of the abdomen, not far from the s...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Supportive care: Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side ef...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Thalassemia: A group of genetic disorders that involve underproduction of hemoglobin, the ...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or s...

Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bu...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Urinalysis: A test that is done in order to analyze urine. Because toxins and excess fluid...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate a...

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, if a person has a viral rash, the rash wa...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...