JAUNDICE
Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish discoloration of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae (whites of the eyes), and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia (increased levels of bilirubin in the blood). This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluids. Jaundice comes from the French word “jaune”, meaning yellow.
One of the first tissues to change color as bilirubin levels rise in jaundice is the conjunctiva of the eye, a condition sometimes referred to as scleral icterus. However, the sclera themselves are not "icteric" (stained with bile pigment) but rather the conjunctival membranes that overlie them. The yellowing of the "white of the eye" is thus more properly conjunctival icterus. See photographic illustration below.
Jaundice, NOS Classification and external resources
Yellowing of the skin and conjunctiva overlying the sclera caused by Hepatitis A.
(Source: Wikipedia)
