Pale stool Color, or Tar-Colored Stool
A pale colored stool is also called cholestasis that can be due to disorders of the pancreas, bile duct, and liver. In this condition, the flow of bile is obstructed at some point between the intestine and liver cells. When this happens, the pigment bilirubin escapes into the bloodstream and starts accumulating in the body. Normally, the bilirubin is produced in the liver, stored temporarily in the gallbladder and then moves to the digestive tract to be eliminated from the body through the feces. Most bilirubin is eliminated in this way while a small amount is excreted in the urine.
The causes of cholestasis include alcoholic liver disease, acute viral hepatitis, scarring of the bile ducts, primary biliary cholangitis, and liver cirrhosis. Certain drugs such as amoxicillin, chlorpromazine, and oral contraceptives can also cause stasis of bilirubin. Hormonal effects on the flow of bilirubin during pregnancy and cancer that has spread to the liver may also lead to pale or dark-colored stools.