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Jacksonian epilepsy (focal epilepsy) an epileptic attack caused by a brain tumour, encephalitis or a head injury, symptoms include limb twitching.
jargon technical or specialized language that is understood only by a particular group, for example health professionals. Often used to describe the use of obscure and pretentious language, together with a roundabout way of expression.
Jarman index system for weighting general practice populations according to social conditions. A composite index of social factors that general practitioners considered important in increasing workload and pressure on services. These factors were identified through a survey of one in ten general practitioners in the UK in 1981. An underprivileged area (UPA) score was then constructed based on the level of each variable in each area, weighted by the weighting assigned from the national general practitioner survey. Eight variables were used: (a) elderly living alone, (b) children aged under five years, (c) unskilled, (d) unemployed (as % economically active), (e) lone-parent families, (f) overcrowded accommodation (>1 person/room), (g) mobility (moved house within 1 year), (h) ethnic origin (new Commonwealth and Pakistan). Information on the variables were derived from the census.
jaundice a condition characterized by a raised bilirubin level in the blood (hyperbilirubinaemia). Minor degrees are only detectable using tests. Major degrees are visible in the yellow discoloration of skin, sclerae and mucosae. Jaundice without the excretion of bilirubin in the urine is termed acholuric. Jaundice may be classified as follows: (a) haemolytic or prehepatic jaundice where excessive breakdown of erythrocytes releases bilirubin into the blood, such as in haemolytic anaemia. See also haemolysis
