Jaundice

Jaundice

Jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, is not a disease itself but a symptom of an underlying disorder. The discoloration occurs when excessive amounts of the body pigment bilirubin accumulate in the bloodstream.

Normally bilirubin -- a natural byproduct of the breakdown of red blood cells in the liver -- mixes with the digestive juice bile and passes harmlessly out of the body through the digestive tract. But if the liver is not functioning More...