Veterinary Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnosis

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Differential diagnosis of jaundice

• Determination of bilirubin is of great importance in the differential diagnosis of jaundice.
• The following types of jaundice are differentiated according to the concentration of conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin in serum:
  • Hemolytic (prehepatic) jaundice characterized by enhanced hemoglobin breakdown with normal liver function;
  • Hepatic (parenchymatous) jaundice due to hepatocyte lesion. Conjugated bilirubin cannot be secreted to biliary capillaries but reenters the blood instead.
  • Obstructive (posthepatic) jaundice due to intra- or extrahepatic biliary duct obstruction; and
  • Functional jaundice due to changes in the intracellular metabolism of bilirubin.