Jaundice Or Icterus is a staining of the tissues by biliary pigments that have been conveyed by the blood-stream. It is a symptom common to most diseases of the liver. There were formerly thought to be two forms of jaundice, the obstructive or hepatogenous and the non-obstructive or hematogenous. The latter variety probably does not really exist, all icterus being due to biliary coloring-matter. There are, however, cases in which no mechanical obstruction can be observed, either by absence of bile in the feces or by lesions in the liver. This discoloration is seen in some infectious diseases and after experiments in which various substances have been injected into the blood. By the destruction of red cells, hemoglobin is set free and this material, from which the bile pigments are formed, is provided in excess.