[Obstructive jaundice and bilirubin level].

A brief comparative description of normal and pathological bilirubin levels is followed in this paper by an account of findings recorded from 301 patients with obstructive jaundice. Particular reference is made to laws underlying preoperative rise, in the form of a logistic function, and postoperative decline of bilirubin, in the form of an exponential function. Average half-life, t/2, amounted to 7.5 days after successful surgery. Half-life was found to be affected by preoperative albumin levels but not by duration of obstructive jaundice, primary disease, surgical technique or other parameters.