What does "kernicterus" mean?

Damage to the brain centres of infants caused by increased levels of unconjugated-indirect bilirubin which is free (not bound to albumin).

What is a synonym for "kernicterus"?

Common synonyms include: bilirubinencephalopathy, bilirubinencephalopathy.

Pronounced //kɜːˈnɪktəɹəs//.

//kɜːˈnɪktəɹəs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Damage to the brain centres of infants caused by increased levels of unconjugated-indirect bilirubin which is free (not bound to albumin). uncountable
2
an abnormal accumulation of bile pigment in the brain and other nerve tissue; causes yellow staining and tissue damage wordnet

Borrowed from German Kernikterus, from Kern (“nucleus”) + Ikterus (“icterus, jaundice”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.