bilirubin

== English == === Etymology === From international scientific vocabulary, from German Bilirubin. By surface analysis, bili- +‎ rub- +‎ -in. The German word was naturalized into other languages as international scientific vocabulary (e.g., bilirubin, bilirubine, bilirubina). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /bɪlɪˈɹuːbɪn/ === Noun === bilirubin (countable and uncountable, plural bilirubins) (biochemistry) A bile pigment that is a product of the breakdown of the heme portion of hemoglobin (which occurs within macrophages as they digest red blood cells), and which is responsible for the yellowish color seen in bruises. Extremely high levels of bilirubin may cause jaundice. ==== Hypernyms ==== bile pigment ==== Coordinate terms ==== bilicyanin biliverdin ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === bilirubin on Wikipedia.Wikipedia