Jaundice

Jaundice shows up as yellowing of the conjunctiva of the eyes and of the skin, together with pale, whitish stools — signs of an abnormality in bilirubin metabolism or excretion. It develops either when red blood cells are broken down faster than usual, raising bilirubin to a level the liver cannot process quickly enough, or when there is an obstruction in the flow of bile from the liver to the duodenum. Bilirubin produced by the breakdown of haemoglobin exists in both a water-soluble and a fat-soluble form; the fat-soluble form is toxic to brain cells, which is why measuring serum bilirubin levels has significant diagnostic value. There is no sing …