(1) A pigmented lipid, e.g., lutein, carotene. SYN: chromolipid. (2) A term sometimes used to designate the wear-and-tear pigments, e.g., lipofuscin, hemofuscin, ceroid. More precisely, lipochromes are yellow pigments that seem to be identical to carotene and xanthophyll and are frequently found in the serum, skin, adrenal cortex, corpus luteum, and arteriosclerotic plaques, as well as in the liver, spleen, and adipose tissue; lipochromes do not stain with the ordinary dyes for fat. (3) The pigment produced by certain bacteria. [lipo- + G. chroma, color]
