Cirrhosis

Location & Structure

The liver is the largest organ of the body weighing in at about 3 pounds and about 6 inches thick. With this size the liver is very resilient. The liver is a red-brownish organ that is shaped like triangle. The liver is located at the top of the abdomen on the right side of the body just below the diaphragm. The structure of the liver is built up of four lobes. The two main lobes are the right and left lobe. The right lobe consist of the two remaining lobes the quadrate and the caudate lobe. Each lobe is composed of thousands of units called lobules.

Without the liver we wouldn’t be able to survive. The liver serves as the body’s main chemical factory. The liver stores glycogen, amino acids, and proteins along with

many other chemicals, but most important it regulates the levels of most of the main chemicals in the blood. The liver performs over 500 functions many of which are metabolic functions. One of the many functions of the liver is digestion by producing bile which is a fat emulsifier. Other important functions include converting glucose to glycogen, producing urea the main substance in urine, it is also responsible for the production of 80% of cholesterol in the human body it produces certain amino acids which are important for the production of protein, stores vitamins and minerals (A,D,K,B12), which all help boost the immune system. Everything that is produced and stored by the liver is vital for a healthy immune system and a healthy immune system will help fight off dieses. The liver is crucial when it comes to detoxification of waste from the human body. It works hard in order to extract toxins like drugs, alcohol, and even ingredients you might find in junk food. All these functions make the liver a vital organ the sustain life if the liver were to cease the majority of its functions the body would quickly die from lack of energy and nutrients.
Systems Involved
The liver is classified under the digestive system, because of the bile it manufactures. Bile is produced in the liver and collected in the gallbladder. Although it has no digestive enzymes, bile weakens and neutralizes stomach acids. It also increases the efficiency of fat digestion and absorption. The liver is involved with the majority of the body’s systems as it participates with the whole body. The liver is responsible for cleansing the blood. The hepatic artery delivers oxygen rich blood from the heart, 25% of the livers blood. The second source that the liver gets its oxygen depleted blood supply from is the hepatic portal vein, 75% of the livers blood supply. The liver receives 1.4 liters of blood flow every minute. The blood carries nutrients where it is further processed in the liver. When the blood exit’s the hepatic vein the blood is clean and ready to drain back into the heart were the process is repeated over and over again. In a way the liver is involved with the circulatory and cardiovascular system. The liver produces urea a substance that is in urine and without the production of urea in the liver there wouldn’t be a urinary system.

Liver Diseases
The liver has to do a lot to do with how we live that why it is called the liver. The state that your liver is in will have a huge impact on your wellbeing. In today’s world the liver has to work twice as hard as opposed to back in the day. All over the world liver problems are increasing as a result of alcohol and drug abuse. Globally one in every ten people suffers with some type of liver disorder. One of the most common disorders these people suffer from is cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver abscess.

Disease One
Cirrhosis of the liver is when healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue eventually preventing the liver from functioning properly.

This can be life threating. The liver usually has to go through a few stages before reaching such a life threating state. Many other diseases will develop into cirrhosis if not treated in time. For example fatty liver is disease that can develop into hepatitis or cirrhosis. This disease is most commonly developed by through acute alcohol abuse or substance abuse. This disease can be reversible with absence before developing into cirrhosis, but 20% of heavy users will fail to stay absent and develop cirrhosis. A second disease you might develop before getting to cirrhosis is hepatitis A, B, or C an infection of the liver can develop into cirrhosis. These viruses cause few symptoms that most of the time they go unnoticed developing into a life threating stage. All these can occur at the same time, but if cirrhosis is reached and the cells of the liver are damaged and unable to repair themselves and being to die off causing a scar to form creating blood clots. If this happens poison and waste will accumulate and if this continues for a long period of time it will lead to a hepatic encephalopathy, a condition in the brain causing confusion, change in behavior and worst case scenario a coma. A way to detect cirrhosis would include ruining some blood work, biopsy, an ultrasound, or a CT scan. If cirrhosis is detected in the liver there will be nothing that will be able to be done and as of now there aren’t any known cures. However; there are treatments available that can delay its progress. For cirrhosis caused by alcohol abuse, the person must stop drinking to stop cirrhosis from advancing. A doctor most commonly will prescribe steroids or antiviral drugs to reduce liver cells from being injured and progress to cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can be reversed depending on how the person follows their treatment plan. If they follow the plan they

have a 5 year survival rate for people who stop drinking, about 90% of them will live 5 extra years. While the ones who don’t follow their plan and continue to drink 70% of them will not survive past 5 years.
Disease Two
There are several cancerous and noncancerous tumors that form in the liver. Most noncancerous tumors start in blood vessels, called hemangioma. Most hemangoima of the liver cause no symptoms, but may cause abdominal pain. These types of tumors can be removed with surgery. There are four types of cancerous tumors that are the most common to occur. They are angiosarcomas, cholangiocarinoma, hepatoblastoma, and hepatocellular cardinoma. Angiosarcoma is developed when you are highly exposed to vinyl chloride. Angosorcma is a very rare liver disease unfortunately it moves to fast to be able to remove it by surgery. Nor chemotherapy and radiation therapy help either. A typical patient lives six months after the tumor has been discovered. A cholangiocarinoma tumor `beings its development in the common bile duct with in the liver. People with gallstones or a chronic infection have a higher chance of developing this cancer. If someone were to develop this cancer they may experience symptoms like abdominal pain, abnormal liver enlargement yellowish coloration of the skin and eyes. Cholangiocarinoma can sometimes not be removed completely by a surgical procedure due to its size and location. Chemo and radiation therapy is also not effective. There prognosis is very poor, with an average survival rate of 6 month after it has been diagnosed. Hepatoblastoma is a rare type of liver cancer that is most commonly found in children under the age of four years old. About 70% of children with this cancer have a high survival rate for early stage treatment. Chemo therapy is usually good treatment for hepatoblastoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most frequent type of liver cancer. It accounts for 84% of the most common liver cancers. In order to be able to treat it would require a liver transplant.
Disease Three
A liver abscess is a puss filled cyst in the liver. A liver abscess can be caused by an infected nearby organ such as the appendix or intestines. It can also be carried in from the blood stream. They are also usually caused by surgery or other trauma to the liver. When a liver abscess is detected in time at its early stage it is usually treatable with antibiotics and surgical procedures. However if it is left untreated a liver abscess can burst and spread infection to nearby organs causing sepsis, a life threating bacterial blood infection. Symptoms someone with a liver abscess might experience are similar to the ones someone with a massive infection or gallbladder infection. Symptoms include: chills, vomiting, high fevers, abdominal pain, dramatic weight loss, and diarrhea. A doctor will diagnose a liver abscess by conducting a series of tests that include: blood test, CT scan, ultrasounds, blood culture. When a liver abscess is diagnosed at its early stage it has a better chance of it being treated with a surgical procedure and having a positive outlook.
Possible Transplant Resolutions
The liver has the greatest capacity of regeneration out of any organ in the entire body. The liver has the ability to regenerate after loss of tissue or injury. Depending on the type of damage the liver can have up to 50% of its tissue damaged and still have the ability to regenerate its self. Most of the time regeneration of the liver does not require medication. It can be done with a change in diet and eating certain foods. When the liver is not able to regenerate its self a liver transplant would be necessary. A liver transplant is mainly used for more severe diseases like liver cancer, cirrhotic liver disease, and any genetic liver disorder. With the liver being in short supply for the fact that there are more people waiting for a liver then there are donors available. When a donor is found portion of the donor’s liver is removed and used to replace the diseased liver of the patient. After surgery both the donor and the patient liver being to regenerate to their normal size. After surgery you will be placed in ICU for one to two days. You will be on a breathing tube for 24 hours to assist you with breathing. You will be hospitalized for two to eight weeks. After you will be seen at the clinic once a week for the first month eventually you will visit every once a year as time goes by. You will also be put on medication in order to speed up the process.
Organizations
There are not many organizations for the liver that raise money or grant wishes like the Make A Wish Foundation, but there are organizations that help educate the public on liver diseases. The American Liver Foundation mission is to facilitate and promote education, support, and research for prevention and treatment for liver disease. The American liver foundation was created in 1976 by AASLD. If anyone is in need of more information or need to get in contact with The American Liver Foundation you can mail them at 39 Broadway, Suite 2700 New York, New York 10006 and call at 212-668-1000. The American Transplant Foundation has a program called the living liver donation. This foundation is a non-profit organization that strives to eliminate a shortage of human transplant organs including the liver. They also support and help raise awareness about organ donations and collaborate with other organ donation groups. If anyone is interested or would like contact with The American Transplant Foundation they may visit or mail them at 600 17th Street, Suite 2515 South, Denver, Co 80702 or call at (303)-757-0959.