Online Medical Dictionary
Letter J
- Jacksonian March
- A seizure associated with epilepsy wherein abnormal electric activity in the primary motor cortex of the brain triggers a brief alteration in movement, causing muscle contraction, tingling sensation and numbness.
- Jadassohn-Lewandowsky Syndrome
- Pachyonychia congenita, a genetic keratoderma syndrome causing thickening of the skin and nails and hyperhidrosis of the palms and soles, developing early in infancy.
- Jakob-Creutzfeldt Disease
- A transmissible spongiform encephalopathy disease of the brain causing dementia, sometimes inherited, incurable and usually fatal within one year of onset. Also called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).
- Jaundice
- Yellow pigmentation of the skin and the whites of the eyes (the sclera induced by abnormally excessive levels of bilirubin in the blood, the breakdown of heme excreted in bile and urine. Jaundice is not a disease, but rather a symptom of an underlying issue with how the body is metabolizing bilirubin. Jaundice may be treated with antibiotics, bilary drainage or other processes. Jaundice complications can lead to more severe conditions such as liver failure, pancreatitis or renal failure.
- JC Virus (JCV)
- A human polyomavirus that can cause progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy or other disease in immunodeficient individuals.
- Jejunostomy
- A surgical procedure performed to create an opening in the jejunum through which is placed a feeding tube when gastrostomy (a feeding tube placed though the stomach) cannot be performed.
- Jejunum
- The middle segment of the small intestine located between the duodenum and ileum.
- Jewett Staging System
- A letter system used to describe the stages of prostate cancer. Also called the ABCD rating or the Whitmore-Jewett staging system, wherein A and B define a cancer confined to the prostate; C defines a cancer that has extended out of the prostate but not yet affected other tissues; and D defines a cancer that has metastasized to lymph nodes and other tissues.
- Jock Itch
- Tinea cruris; a fungal infection developing in the groin region.
- Joint
- The area, usually made of cartilage and fibrous tissue, attaching two bones and allowing for motion. Also called arthosis.
- Joint Aspiration
- The process by which synovial fluid is drained from a joint. Also called arthrocentesis.
- JPS
- Abbreviation for Juvenile polyposis syndrome.
- Jugular Vein
- The neck veins that function to transport deoxygenated blood from the head to the heart through the superior vena cava.
- Juvenile diabetes
- See Diabetes type 1.
- Juvenile Polyposis
- An autosomal dominant syndrome marked by the development of polyps throughout the gastrointestinal tract or at least five polyps developed in the rectum or colon. Though the polyps are benign, juvenile polyposis can increase the risk of adenocarcinoma, a cancer that develops out of glands or other type of epithelia with secreting capabilities.
- Juvenile Retinoschisis
- An X-linked genetic disease of the eye marked by the abnormal splitting of layers of the retina. Though hereditary retinoschisis does not usually cause complete blindness, it can significantly impede visual acuity and increase the risk of other ocular complications.
- Juxta-
- Prefix defining close proximity.
