Jaundice produces yellow pigmentation from which substance?

Jaundice produces yellow pigmentation from bilirubin, a yellow-orange substance formed when the body breaks down old red blood cells.

Hemoglobin from aging red blood cells is processed into biliverdin and then bilirubin. The liver normally makes bilirubin water-soluble and sends it into bile, which eventually leaves the body through the digestive tract. When production rises or the liver, gallbladder, or bile ducts cannot process or move it properly, bilirubin accumulates in the blood and tissues.

The yellow color is often easiest to see in the whites of the eyes, called the sclera, as well as the skin and mucous membranes. Common causes include hepatitis, hemolysis, gallstones, newborn jaundice, and other liver or bile-duct disorders. A related mix-up is confusing jaundice with a disease itself: jaundice is a visible sign of elevated bilirubin, not one single diagnosis.