Preview

Jaundice Disease

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1702 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jaundice Disease
The word jaundice is derived from a French word called as jaune, which means yellow. It is a very common condition which is seen in newborn babies which can be treated by exposing them to sunlight. It is also known as yellow skin or eyes disease. It turns your skin, mucous membranes, sclera (the white of your eyes) into a single yellow color. This yellow pigment which is seen on your skin is due to bilirubin which is a byproduct of old red blood cells. If you are affected by jaundice consider it to be a serious problem which cannot to be taken lightly.
Nearly 1% red blood cells retire everyday and those are replaced by fresh blood cells. These old blood cells are processed in the liver and later disposed. If there happens to be too many old red blood cells the yellow pigment builds up in the body, which results in the first stages of jaundice.
Even though jaundice is not a disease but it is a sign for many other diseases. Jaundice is very common among babies due to the immature functioning of the liver. It is not equipped to deal with the removal of bilirubin from the bloodstream. Jaundice occurs mainly due to liver failure but there are many other reasons by which it is affected. Bilirubin is a natural product arising from the normal breakdown of red blood cells in the body and is excreted in the bile, through the actions of the liver. Jaundice is most often the result of a disorder affecting the liver it can be caused by a variety of other conditions affecting for example the blood or spleen. It should be thoroughly investigated so that the underlying cause can be identified and treated.
The red blood cells in our circulation carry oxygen to all parts of the body and have a life span of about 120 days. At the end of their life they are broken down and removed from the circulation by special cells called phagocytes, which are found within the bone marrow, spleen and liver.
New red cells are of course continually manufactured and this also takes place within the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 1 Case Study 1

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    2)Compare the development of lymphocytes with the development of the other formed elements. Lymphocytes and other formed elements are developed from pluripotent stem cells. The pluripotent stem cells generate myeloid stem cells and lymphoid stem cells. Lymphoid stem cells begin development in the red bone marrow, but some are completed in the lymphatic tissue, where they give rise to lymphocytes. Myeloid stem cell begins and complete their development in the red bone marrow and give rise to red blood cells, platelets, basophils, monocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ed’s erythrocytes are being destroyed by a parasite that infects them. What is the process of blood cell formation that replenishes lost cells?…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The red blood cells, which are also called erythrocytes which have the important responsibility of carrying the oxygen throughout the body…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Problems may include the following: Severe jaundice. The baby's liver is unable to handle the large amount of a substance called bilirubin that results from red blood cell breakdown. The baby's liver is enlarged and iron deficiency proceeds. Kernicterus: the most serious type of an excessive amount of bilirubin and results from the development of bilirubin in the cerebrum. This can bring about seizures, cerebrum harm, deafness, and death.…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tell Me About Blood

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    3. Erythropoiesis is the process of red blood cell formation or production which begins in the red bone marrow as a proerythroblast. It then divides several times until it reaches the end of development, ejects the nucleus, and becomes a reticulocyte. These develop into erythrocytes within one or two days after release from the bone marrow. Erythropoiesis slows down when there is a decrease in oxygen carrying capacity of blood. It speeds up when the oxygen delivery to the kidneys and other body tissues fails.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Red blood cells are specialized cells with no nucleus, containing a red colored pigment, haemoglobin which carried oxygen to the respiring cells in the body. They also have a biconcave shape to maximize haemoglobin storage and for flexibility through narrow blood vessels.…

    • 717 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the vital cells that are involved are white blood cells, which are best known as leukocytes. Leukocytes have…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sickle Cell Themes

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fat cells make up yellow bone marrow that do not generate blood cells however in most long bones red bone marrow is replaced by this yellow bone marrow. Red blood cells are the most abundant cells in the blood which inhabit fewer than 50% of the blood volume in men and women (Huether and McCance, 2008). Huether and McCance (2008) discusses that red blood cells are composed of two molecules Haem which holds iron at its centre and Globin. Erythrocytes main responsibility is tissue oxygenation, they enclose haemoglobin and carry gases and electrolytes that regulate diffusion through the cells plasma membrane. The most common type of haemoglobin is (Hb A) the majority of people inherit Hb A from both parents (Hb AA). However, in sickle cell anaemia a person inherits two genes, Hb S a gene from each parent (Hb SS) as explained earlier (Porth,…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Red blood cells carry oxygen and hemoglobin throughout the body, which helps the body preform homeostasis.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Blood Disorders

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages

    * Lily, a 4-year-old Caucasian female, has she been complaining of being tired all the time. She is pale and is a picky eater. Her mother is a single mom with a small budget to feed a large family. Lily eats only pasta, breads, and hot dogs, and she drinks only artificial fruit punch. Lily has iron deficiency anemia. Infants can be infected from the time of birth from certain forms of anemia. Certain forms of anemia are hereditary. When girls are not getting the proper amount of iron in their diet then they may become iron deficiency. There are many different symptoms of iron deficiency anemia but the most common are swelling of the tongue, drying of the lips, and eating and craving ice. Lily’s mother cannot afford the proper food filled with iron so the best thing that she can buy for Lily is foods and drinks that have vitamin C in it, such as orange juice.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sickle Cell Anemia is a disease that which the red blood cells form an abnormal sickle or crescents shape. Red blood cells are very important to the human body because they carry oxygen throughout the body. The main causes of Sickle cell is when the cells in the body mutate into abnormal cell called haemoglobin S. Haemoglobin S causes the red blood cells to become sickle shaped, rigid. This causes to make it more difficult for the cells to flow the vein to deliver the oxygen. Sickled cells can also stick to walls of the vein that can cause blood clotting which leads to less blood flow which can lead to organ damage, pain and infection. The disease is passed through families so people can inherit the sickle cell gene when only one parent has the sickle cell gene the child can have sickle cell trait where the child has only minor traits of the disease and like a normal life. When both parents have the sickle cell gene the child has to suffer through the symptoms of sickle cell anemia. The symptoms do not show until the person is 4 months old. Most patients that have sickle cell anemia have painful episodes called crises which can last from hours to days. The episodes are very painful especially to the bones of the back and the chest. Patents can have many crises in one year or only have one crisis per year. Some other symptoms can be fatigue, paleness, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, jaundice (yellowing of eyes and skin), blood clotting and painful joints caused by arthritis. Sighs and tests that can diagnose sickle cell anemia are bilirubin, blood oxygen, complete blood count, serum potassium. Treatments that help manage and control the symptoms. And limit the numbers of crises. Patients with sickle cell anemia need ongoing treatment even during the time not having painful crisis. Treatments that can help are blood transfusion, pain medicines and plenty of fluids. Bone marrow or stem cell transplants can sure sickle…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sickle Cell Anemia

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that affects the 11th chromosome which is a hemoglobin gene. Hemoglobin is a protein located in red blood cells (RBCs) that carries oxygen through the body. This disorder is inherited from two parents with abnormal genes that are heterozygous (Rr). This means that both parents who have the trait may pass on the disorder to their offspring. The phenotype makeup is recessive. Those who inherit a normal copy of the chromosome 11 and a mutated chromosome will carry the trait, though would not show any symptoms. Normal red blood cells are soft and flexible to fit thought small vessels. Sickle cell anemia causes these blood cells to stiffen and curve, almost like a crescent moon. The abnormal cells (erythrocytes) become stuck and block a narrow vessel which disables oxygen to pass through and causes pain and damage to organs. Many organs such as the liver and spleen become damaged due to lack of oxygen. When the spleen becomes damaged, patience will experience many infections. Pain is also caused by the sickle blood cells becoming caught in vessels called crises. Jaundice (yellowness to eyes and skin) can occur in babies due to liver damage. Sickle cell anemia can be diagnosed by a simple blood test, mostly to newborns. The blood test given to those who weren’t tested at birth is called the hemoglobin electrophoresis. It determines if you have the disease or is a carrier of the trait. It can be treated by blood transfusions from a donor with healthy blood cells, or a bone marrow transplant. Some interesting facts are that: normal blood cells can live up to 120 days, but sickle blood cells live up to 10 to 20 days. When the red blood cells are damaged, the body kills the red blood cells off which causes chronic anemia. African Americans are mostly affected with this disease due to inter-marriage. 1 in 12 African Americans have the trait and 1 in 500 actually have the disease. Also, Sickle cell anemia can be traced back to the…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Thalassemia Disorders

    • 1913 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Thalassemia is a group of related blood disorders that cause abnormal hemoglobin production. It is a genetic disorder that is recessive; therefore both parents must be carriers to pass on the disorder in its major form. Thalassemia is categorized into two types, major and minor. Individuals suffering from the major form, tend to need frequent blood transfusions in order to survive. (Garrison & Peterson ) Other names for Thalassemia disorders are: Mediterranean Anemia, Sickle Cell Anemia, and Cooley’s anemia (named after the first…

    • 1913 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sickle Cell Anemia

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder, identified by the sickle shape of red blood cells which carry less oxygen and break easily, causing anemia. The sickling trait, the less serious form, occurs from the inheritance of only one parent; however, both parents must exhibit the disease in order for full symptoms to take place. It is caused by an error in the gene that tells the…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Journey Through the Human Body My name is Ruby; I am a red blood cell. I am a dazzling ruby red color (hence my name) with a small area of inner pallor and I am very small: only about 6 µm in diameter. I get my red color from a protein chemical called hemoglobin, which is bright red. Hemoglobin not only gives me my beautiful color, it also contains the element iron, which makes it a good vehicle for transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide. I have a very important role in the circulatory system of your body. Actually, it is probably the most important of all the blood cells. I carry oxygen to all parts of your body and tissues and I also return carbon dioxide from your tissues to your lungs.…

    • 608 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics