bilirubin

American  

[bil-uh-roo-bin, bil-uh-roo-bin] / ˈbɪl əˌru bɪn, ˌbɪl əˈru bɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a reddish bile pigment, C 33 H 36 O 6 N 4 , resulting from the degradation of heme by reticuloendothelial cells in the liver: a high level in the blood produces the yellow skin symptomatic of jaundice.

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bilirubin British  

/ ˌbɪlɪˈruːbɪn, ˌbaɪ- /

noun

1. an orange-yellow pigment in the bile formed as a breakdown product of haemoglobin. Excess amounts in the blood produce the yellow appearance associated with jaundice. Formula: C 32 H 36 O 6 N 4

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bilirubin Scientific  

/ bĭl′ĭ-ro̅o̅′bĭn /

1. A reddish-yellow pigment that is a constituent of bile and gives it its color. Bilirubin is a porphyrin derived from the degradation of heme. It is often a constituent of gallstones, and also causes the skin discoloration seen in jaundice. Chemical formula: C ₃₃ H ₃₆ N ₄ O ₆ .

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Etymology

Origin of bilirubin

< German Bilirubin (1864), equivalent to Latin bīli ( s ) bile + rub ( er ) red + German -in -in ²

Example Sentences

Bilirubin naturally arises when the spleen and other parts of the body dispose of heme, the core of the hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 8, 2023

Bilirubin, the main bile pigment, is a waste product produced when the spleen removes old or damaged red blood cells from the circulation.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Bilirubin is eventually transformed by intestinal bacteria into stercobilin, a brown pigment that gives your stool its characteristic color!

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Bilirubin binds to albumin and travels in the blood to the liver, which uses it in the manufacture of bile, a compound released into the intestines to help emulsify dietary fats.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Bilirubin presents the former relation, while chloroform solutions of the coloring matter of the yelk of egg and of the corpus luteum, called lutein or h�molutein, are not decolorized by an alkali.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various