Jaundice

Jaundice causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to turn yellow. Too much bilirubin causes jaundice. Bilirubin is a yellow chemical in hemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen in your red blood cells. As red blood cells break down, your body builds new cells to replace them. The old ones are processed by the liver. If the liver cannot handle the blood cells as they break down, bilirubin builds up in the body and your skin may look yellow.

Many healthy babies have some jaundice during the first week of life. It usually goes away. However, jaundice can happen at any age and may be a sign of a problem. Jaundice can happen for many reasons, such as:

Blood diseases
Genetic syndromes
Liver diseases, such as hepatitis or cirrhosis
Blockage of bile ducts
Infections
Medicines

Jaundice on Wikipedia

'''Jaundice''', technically known as '''icterus''', is yellowing of the skin, sclera (the white of the eyes) and mucous membranes caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the system. Usually the concentration of bilirubin in the blood must exceed 2-3mg/dL for the coloration to be easily visible. Jaundice comes from the French language word ''jaune,'' meaning yellow. Jaundice also causes itchiness of the skin.

Causes of jaundice

When red blood cells die, the heme in their hemoglobin is converted to bilirubin in the spleen. The bilirubin is processed by the liver, enters bile and is eventually excreted through feces. Consequently, there are three different classes of causes for jaundice. ''Pre-hepatic'' or ''hemolytic'' causes, where too many red blood cells are broken down, ''hepatic'' causes where the processing of bilirubin in the liver does not function correctly, and ''post-hepatic'' or ''extrahepatic'' causes, where the removal of bile is disturbed.

Pre-hepatic

Pre-hepatic (or hemolytic) jaundice is caused by anything which causes an increased rate of hemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells). In tropical countries, malaria can cause jaundice in this manner. Certain genetic diseases, such as glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency can lead to increase red cell lysis and therefore hemolytic jaundice. Defects in bilirubin metabolism also present as jaundice.

Hepatic

Hepatic causes include acute hepatitis, hepatotoxicity and alcoholic liver disease. Less common causes include primary biliary cirrhosis, Gilbert's syndrome and metastatic carcinoma. Jaundice commonly seen in the newborn baby is another example of hepatic jaundice.

Post-hepatic

Post-hepatic (or obstructive) jaundice, also called cholestasis, is caused by an interruption to the drainage of bile in the biliary system. The most common causes are gallstones in the common bile ... [ Read More ]

External Resources

The Jaundiced Eye - Official site with plot and character information.

Inside Out Film: The Jaundiced Eye - Movie review.

Metacritic.com: The Jaundiced Eye - Links to reviews on other sites.

Rotten TomatoesL The Jaundiced Eye - Synopsis and links to movie reviews.

Bright Lights Film Journal: The Jaundiced Eye - Movie review and pictures.

IMDb: The Jaundiced Eye - Production information and user ratings.

Jaundiced Eye Productions - Review, gives the movie his highest rating.

Philadelphia Inquirer: A Jaundiced, if Potent, View of Marriage - Steven Rea calls the film "a crackling, claustrophobic chamber piece about two married couples."

Spectrx, Inc. - Researches and develops products which offer less invasive and painless alternatives to blood tests currently used for glucose monitoring, diabetes screening, infant jaundice and cancer detection. (Nasdaq: SPRX).

Liver Disease - Medicinenet.com - Medical information about liver disorders for patients with cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis, jaundice and liver cancer.