pigment
Meaning of pigment: A pigment is any substance that gives color to tissue, with melanin, hemoglobin, and bile pigments among the ones most relevant to the body's appearance.
Definition of pigment
A pigment is a substance responsible for giving color to tissue. In the human body, several distinct pigments account for the natural coloring of skin, hair, eyes, and other tissues, each produced and deposited through a different biological process.
Melanin, produced by cells called melanocytes, is the primary pigment responsible for the color of skin, hair, and eyes, with the amount and type of melanin present accounting for much of the natural variation in coloring between individuals. Other pigments include hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color, and bilirubin, a bile pigment that contributes to the color of bile and stool.
Because pigments are visible markers of underlying biological processes, changes in pigment production or distribution, such as increased melanin causing a darkened patch of skin or bilirubin accumulating in the skin and eyes during jaundice, are often used as a clinical clue pointing toward a particular underlying condition.
Used in a sentence
Loss of pigment in the affected area of skin was noted during the examination.
Good to know
Different pigments in the body, including melanin, hemoglobin, and bile pigments, are unrelated substances that happen to share the general property of imparting color, and a change in one does not indicate a change in another.
Word origin
Where “pigment” comes from
Formed from Latin pigmentum, meaning coloring matter or paint.