What it means
Spoken and charted shorthand for bilirubinbil-ih-ROO-binA yellow pigment made when old red blood cells break down, which the liver clears into bile.Full entry , the yellow pigment made when red blood cells break down. It is used most in newborn care: the "bili" is the bilirubin level, and "bili lights" or a "bili blanket" give phototherapyfoh-toh-THAIR-uh-peeTreatment with light, most often special blue light on a newborn's skin to lower the bilirubin level.phot/o light-therapy treatmentFull entry for newborn jaundice.
Related terms
jaundice
Yellow color of the skin, the whites of the eyes and other tissues from too much bilirubin in the blood.
bilirubin
A yellow pigment made when old red blood cells break down, which the liver clears into bile.
phototherapy
Treatment with light, most often special blue light on a newborn's skin to lower the bilirubin level.
hyperbilirubinemia
Too much bilirubin, a yellow waste product of old red blood cells, in the blood.