Outstanding bile pigment problems

In this review of the chemistry, biochemistry and chemical pathology of the bile pigments I am well aware that I shall ask many more questions than I am able to answer. It seems appropriate that the subject should be considered under the five headings: -Chemistry; Formation from Haem Proteins; Transport in the Blood; Conjugation and Transport to the Bile; and Changes in the Gut. I shall conclude with a brief account of the early labelled bilirubin. Because investigation of the pathological significance of the chemical changes undergone in the body is possible only if the chemical structures of the bile pigments are accurately known, my department in London has been very much concerned during the last 15 years with the chemistry of the bile pigments. The work I shall describe has been carried out in collaboration with Dr. NICHOLSON, Dr. KULCZYCKA, Dr. COLE, Dr. PETRYKA and more recently by Mr. STOLL and Miss LEMMON.