Medical terms - Letter J | MedicalVocabulary.org

Jackknife seizure

See: Infantile spasms
Jackson

See: Hughlings Jackson, John
Jackson Laboratory

The premiere place for mouse genetics and the largest mammalian genetic research facility in the world. Many of the types of mice used in medical research originated at the laboratory which is in Bar Harbor on Mount…
Jackson Pratt drain

See: JP drain
Jackson, John Hughlings

See: Hughlings Jackson, John
Jackson-Pratt drain

See: JP drain
Jacksonian epilepsy

See: Epilepsy, Jacksonian
Jacksonian seizure

A form of epilepsy involving brief alteration in movement, sensation or nerve function caused by abnormal electrical activity in a localized area of the brain. Seizures of this type typically cause no change in…
Jadassohn-Lewandowski Syndrome

This syndrome is a form of what is called elephant nails from birth (pachyonychia congenita). The characteristic features include: > >Abnormally thick curved nails (onychogryposis) >Thickening of the skin…
Jail fever

See: Typhus, epidemic
JAK3

Or Jak3. An enzyme found only in cells in the immune system that is critical for the cell signaling process resulting in the development of white blood cells. Mutation of the gene encoding JAK3 is responsible for a form…
JAK3 inhibitor

A drug that inhibits the enzyme JAK3 (which is found only in immune cells) and acts as an immunosuppressant
Jakob's disease

Better known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a dementing disease of the brain. It is believed due to an unconventional, transmissible agent (a prion). Symptoms of CJD include forgetfulness, nervousness, jerky…
Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease

A transmissible degenerative brain disorder technically termed spongiform encephalopathy. Eating 'mad cow' meat or squirrel brain can lead to Jaqcob-Creuzfeldt-like disease. Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease, better known as…
JAMA

The Journal of the American Medical Association. JAMA began publication in 1883. It now bills itself as 'the world's best-read medical journal'. However one defines 'best-read', JAMA clearly ranks as one of the two…
Jamais vu

From the French, meaning 'never seen'. The illusion that the familiar does not seem familiar. The opposite of the feeling of 'dejà vu.
James Ramsay Hunt

See: Ramsay Hunt, James
James Watson

See: Watson, James
Janiceps

Conjoined twins whose heads are fused together, with the faces looking in opposite directions, like the two-faced Roman god Janus. The suffix -ceps comes from the Latin caput, meaning head. See also: Craniopagus…
Janus kinase 3

See: JAK3
Japanese encephalitis

A mosquito-borne viral infection, the leading cause of viral encephalitis in Asia. Japanese encephalitis virus cannot be transmitted from person-to-person. Number of cases: About 50,000 cases of Japanese encephalitis…
Jaundice

Jaundice: Yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally high blood levels of the bile pigment bilirubin. The yellowing extends to other tissues and body fluids. Jaundice was once called…
Jaundice, congenital hemolytic

Jaundice, congenital hemolytic: Known also as hereditary spherocytosis (HS), this is a genetic disorder of the red blood cell membrane clinically characterized by anemia, jaundice (yellowing) and splenomegaly…
Jaundice, hemolytic

Jaundice, hemolytic: Jaundice caused by destruction of red blood cells. This can be an inborn condition (hereditary spherocytosis) or it may be caused by a blood transfusion from a different blood group, infection in…
Jaundice, neonatal

Yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the newborn's eyes (sclerae) by pigment of bile (bilirubin). In newborn babies a degree of jaundice is normal. It is due to the breakdown of red blood cells (which release…
Jaundice, obstructive

Jaundice caused by obstruction of the bile ducts, as with gallstones. Additional symptoms of obstructive jaundice include dark urine, pale feces, and itching, although there is no pain. Sometimes the cause of…
Jaw

The bones below the mouth (the mandible) and the bone above the mouth just above the mouth (the maxilla). The word jaw comes from the Anglo-Saxon ceowan meaning to chew.
Jawbone

1. As a noun, a bone of the jaw, particularly the mandible.2. As a verb, to try and influence with words (jawbones) rather than force
JC virus

(JCV) A virus that commonly causes infections of no consequence in children with a normal immune system but which is responsible for an infection of the brain and spinal cord called progressive multifocal…
JCI

The Journal of Clinical Investigation, a highly regarded biomedical journal
JCML

Juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia. See: Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia
JCV

JC virus
Jealousy, delusional

See: Othello syndrome
JEB (junctional epidermolysis bullosa)

See: Junctional epidermolysis bullosa
Jejunal

Having to do with the jejunum.
Jejunostomy

A surgical operation to create an opening of the jejunum (a part of the (a part of the small intestine) to a hole (stoma) in the abdomen
Jejunum

Part of the small intestine. It is half-way down the small intestine between its duodenum and ileum sections. The term 'jejunum' derives from the Latin 'jejunus,' which means 'empty of food,' 'meager,' or 'hungry.' The…
Jellyfish itch

An intensely itchy rash due to contact with the tiny thimble jellyfish (Linuche unguiculata). These jellyfish are common between March and August in the waters off of Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean…
Jellyfish sting

: The injection into the skin of venom from the stinging unit (the nematocyst) of the jellyfish. The jellyfish tentacles can extend for several feet and are lined with venom-filled cells (nematocysts). One tentacle may…
Jenner's method

The production of immunity to a disease by inoculation of an attenuated form of the virus causing the disease. Also called jennerization. See: Jennerization
Jennerian method

The production of immunity to a disease by inoculation of an attenuated form of the virus causing the disease. Also called jennerization. See: Jennerization
Jennerization

The production of immunity to a disease by inoculation of an attenuated form of the virus causing the disease. Named after the English physician Edward Jenner (1749-1823). Jenner exploited the folk knowledge that people…
Jenny Craig

Jenny Craig is a diet program that originated in Australia in 1983 in Australia and started U.S. operations in 1985. The program teaches participants how to eat the foods they want in small, frequent portions and to…
Jequirity pea

See: Abrin
Jerk, hypnic

See: Hypnic jerk
Jerk, sleep

See: Hypnic jerk
Jet lag

Jet lag: A temporary disorder that causes fatigue, insomnia, and other symptoms as a result of rapid air travel across time zones. Other symptoms of jet lag include anxiety, constipation, diarrhea, confusion…
Jewett staging system

A system for determining the stage of a prostate cancer. The system uses ABCD. The letters 'A' and 'B' designate cancers that are confined to the prostate. The letter 'C' applies to cancers that have grown out of the…
Jewish penicillin

Chicken soup. If not really a form of penicillin,' chicken soup may, in fact, have some therapeutic merit. A study published in the journal Chest demonstrated that chicken soup may contain substances with beneficial…
Jimmy Fund

A children's cancer fund that has been responsible for highly significant work, especially on chemotherapy, that has reduced the death rate with some childhood cancers — particularly, the most common form of leukemia in…