—Those discolorations occurring before death and which would remain on the body after death would be:

(a)

Yellow Jaundice.

—In the study of the liver you have heard that the liver secretes a digestive juice called the bile.

Bile acts as the natural antiseptic of the intestines in life, and aids with the digestion of fatty food substances along with other actions. The principal coloring matter of the bile is a yellow substance called bili-rubin. Biliverdin, green, is precipitated by alkalies.

The course of this bile in life is from the liver to the gall bladder, which acts as the reservoir, into the cystic duct and then into the common bile duct and into the cavity of the duodenum (first section of the small intestines). It sometimes happens that there may be an obstruction of the bile ducts with the result that the bile is backed up into the gall bladder, and from there into the liver again, throwing it into the blood vessels of the liver and out into the tissues of the body along with the blood. As the blood traverses the entire area of the body, and as the yellow coloring matter of the bile acts as a stain, it is only a matter of course that the tissues will be stained the characteristic color of the bile.

This stain will be found all over the body from the outer layer of the skin to the membrane covering the bone (the periosteum) and will adhere very closely to the tissues, rendering the removal practically impossible.

Ordinary arterial injection of a body of this character will have absolutely no effect, no matter what preservative fluid may be used and regardless of whatever any one may say, as it stands to reason that when the discoloration is not located in the blood vessels, that the removal of same can not be accomplished by flushing the blood vessels alone.

Of course, the washing of the blood vessels with a solution will aid the removal of the discoloration, but it is necessary to employ a strong bleaching solution on the outer surface of the exposed parts in order to better the conditions so that the body may be made presentable.