Icterus - syndromes of the various parentage, skins described by an icteric staining and mucosas.

Icterus (true) - a symptom-complex, described an icteric staining of a skin and the mucosas, caused by accumulation in tissues and a blood of a bilirubin. A false icterus - an icteric staining of a skin (but not mucosas) owing to accumulation in it of Carotinums at the long and plentiful use in nutrition of carrots, oranges, pumpkins, and also arising at intake of a quinacrine, a nitroxanthic acid and some other preparations. The true icterus appears as a result of disharmony between formation of a bilirubin and its allocation. The reason of disturbance of secretory function of bile of a liver can be: a lesion of hepatic cells (a parenchymatous icterus), disturbance of outflow of bile on cholic ducts (a mechanical icterus - see Surgical illnesses), the strengthened erythrocytolysis (hemolysis) with remission of a plenty of a bilirubin which a liver not in a condition to process (a hemolitic icterus - see Illnesses of system of a blood).

The parenchymatous (hepatic) icterus arises at various lesions of a parenchyma of a liver. It is observed at serious forms of a virus hepatitis, poisonings with hepatotoxic poisons, a sepsis, a chronic aggressive hepatitis, etc. Owing to a lesion of hepatocytes their function on catching a free (indirect) bilirubin from a blood, to its linkage with a glucuronic acid with formation of nontoxical water-soluble bilirubin-глюкуронида (direct) and to allocation of the last in cholic capillaries decreases. There is an icteric staining of a skin, mucosas. For a parenchymatous icterus color of a skin - saffron-yellow yellow, reddish (« a red icterus ») is characteristic. In the beginning icteric painting is shown on scleras and a soft palate, then the skin is painted. The parenchymatous icterus is accompanied by the itch of a skin however less expressed, than mechanical as the amazed liver produces cholic acids (which accumulation in a blood and tissues less and causes this sign).