Final answer:
Yellow conjunctiva in a person with hepatitis B is a symptom known as jaundice, caused by the liver's inability to properly process and clear bilirubin from the blood due to viral damage, leading to a buildup of bilirubin that discolors bodily tissues.
Step-by-step explanation:
A person with hepatitis B can have yellow conjunctiva, a condition known as jaundice. This occurs because the liver, damaged by the hepatitis B virus, struggles to process and excrete bilirubin, a byproduct of the breakdown of hemoglobin from red blood cells. When bilirubin accumulates in the blood, it can seep into bodily tissues, including the conjunctiva of the eyes, causing them to appear yellow.
The liver fails to conjugate and excrete normally produced bilirubin, leading to increased levels of both conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin in the blood. When bilirubin diffuses into peripheral tissue, the tissue assumes a yellow color, indicative of jaundice. Hepatitis B is particularly known for causing this effect due to the virus replicating in hepatocytes and leading to inflammation and injury to the liver.