Autopsy findings associated with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia

Hyperbilirubinemia is associated with bilirubin deposition in tissue in the newborn including the liver, kidney, heart, adrenal, lung, and brain. High levels of serum bilirubin will stain the skin and sclera and be called "jaundice" clinically, and similarly high levels of bilirubin will stain tissues internally, preferentially in areas of tissue damage. Whether the bilirubin causes the damage or marks the damage because of other insults or both remains controversial.