Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,913,790,223 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

kernicterus

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
kernicterus /ker·nic·ter·us/ (ker-nik´ter-us) [Ger.] a condition with severe neural symptoms, associated with high levels of bilirubin in the blood.
ker·nic·ter·us (kûr-nktr-s)
n.
A grave form of jaundice of the newborn characterized by very high levels of unconjugated bilirubin in the blood and by yellow staining and degenerative lesions in the cerebral gray matter. Also called nuclear jaundice.

Kernicterus
A potentially lethal disease of newborns caused by excessive accumulation of the bile pigment bilirubin.

kernicterus
[kərnik′tərəs]
Etymology: Ger, kern, kernel; Gk, ikteros, jaundice
an abnormal toxic accumulation of bilirubin in central nervous system tissues caused by hyperbilirubinemia. See also hyperbilirubinemia of the newborn.

kernicterus [ker-nik´ter-us]
a condition in the newborn marked by severe neural symptoms, associated with high levels of bilirubin in the blood; it is commonly a sequela of icterus gravis neonatorum.

kernicterus
(kurnik´trs),
n a form of brain damage seen in newborns that is caused by an excessive level of red blood cells (polycythemia). As the body breaks down the red blood cells, bilirubin, a byproduct of cell destruction, becomes elevated and results in excessive jaundice. Typical symptoms include lethargy, high-pitched crying, and decreased muscle tone with intermittent periods of increased muscle tone. As the condition progresses, the newborn may exhibit a fever and may arch the head backward in a condition known as opisthotonus, or retrocollis.

kernicterus
bilirubin toxicity; may occur with severe hyperbilirubinemia. Rarely observed in dogs and cats.

kernicterus
Bilirubin encephalopathy Neonatology The staining of parts of the infant brain, especially the basal ganglia and hippocampus by BR that has penetrated the blood-brain barrier which, in older children, is more impervious to bilirubin; kernicterus is classically linked to Rh HDN, when the immune system of a mother who does not have the RhD–less commonly C, c, E, e, or other antigen on her RBCs, comes in contact with the infant's RBCs and forms antibodies to them; this causes a brisk hemolysis and ↑ BR; serum levels of ≥ 20 mg/dL of BR pose
a high risk for kernicterus, and represent a medical emergency; severe kernicterus is often fatal, and characterized by lethargy, poor feeding, hypertonicity, seizures and apnea; survivors have sequelae in the form of dental dysplasia, cerebral palsy, hearing loss Clinical, full term infants Severe jaundice, lethargy, poor feeding, choreoathetoid cerebral palsy, mental retardation, sensorineural hearing loss, gaze paresis. See Hemolytic disease of the newborn, Jaundice.


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Medical browser?   Full browser?
 
Karon: We need to continue to raise the level of awareness about the risk of kernicterus in neonates if we do not employ systematic risk-assessment protocols for hyperbilirubinemia in our hospitals and nurseries.
Kernicterus is damage to the brain centers of infants caused by increased levels of unconjugated-indirect bilirubin which is free (not bound to albumin).
 
 
 
Medical Dictionary
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.