BILE PIGMENT AS AN EXPRESSION OF BLOOD DESTRUCTION
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
Until recently, contemplation of the pigmentation of the skin and the urinary excretion of bile pigments in jaundice has almost invariably awakened thoughts of the liver and the failure of the hepatic functions which such symptoms have indicated. The newer knowledge of the origin and behavior of one of the components—the bile pigment, bilirubin—responsible for the manifestations described is likely to direct attention to further features of the pigment production and migrations in the body. Though it is conceivable that a variety of chemically related substances, such as the plant pigment chlorophyl, may act as precursors of the bile pigment, at present the only known source is hemoglobin. Furthermore, we are for the present committed to the belief that bilirubin may be formed from hemoglobin outside of and independently of the activity of the liver cells, so that its genesis from hemoglobin may have a diversity of sites outside the
