DEFINITION (1)
Cirrhosis can be simply defined as diffuse fibrosis associated with parenchymal nodules.
It involves the whole liver rather than a small part even though on occasion the fibrosis may be more severe in one or other lobe. Fibrosis results partially from collapse of the new fibre formation and is usually regarded as a consequence of liver-cell necrosis. The nodules of a cirrhotic liver are the surviving parenchyma. But they are strutually altered. They vary greatly in size and appearance. Within them, there may be little organized structure which is similar to normal lobule and acini. In biliary cirrhosis and haemochromatosis, the parenchyma remains normal for a long period and fibrosis is the dominant pathological process. But true cirrhosis occurs only when lobular architecture becomes altered.
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LIVER CELL CHANGES (1)
The common change is liver cell necrosis. It may be the form of an acute hepatitis or viral or alcoholic type. Alternatively there may be continuous liver cell damage as in metabolic disorders. When necrosis is massive as in severe viral or drug induced hepatitis, the areas of surviving parenchyma are assumed to undergo regeneration but fail to reproduce normal lobular or acinar architecture. The compressed necrotic zones then form the basis of the fibrous septa of the cirrhotic liver.
In biliary cirrhosis and haemochromatosis, the eventual transition to cirrhosis is presumably de...
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... Clotting process propagation by the coagulation cascade
• Clotting termination by antithrombic mechanisms
• Clot removal by fibrinolysis
The liver plays central role in each of these phases of clotting process, as it synthesizes the majority of coagulation factors and proteins involved in fibrinolysis as well as thrombopoietin., which is responsible for platelet production from megakaryocytes. In cirrhosis, liver is badly get damaged. So the production of coagulation factors and proteins is impaired. Many pathological processes associated with cirrhosis, such as portal hypertension and endothelial dysfunction as well as co-morbid conditions, may also alter the coagulation process. Consequently, patients with liver disease as in cirrhosis, have a disturbed balance of procoagulant and anti- coagulant factors which deviates from the normal coagulation cascade.
Coumadin works by inhibiting with how your body uses vitamin K. The metabolism of Coumadin, vitamin K and vitamin K dependant clotting factors take place in your liver. “Coumadin prevents the production of the vitamin K dependent clotting factors and this results in a slower clotting rate.” (National Blood Clot Alliance, 2014)
The development of the heart is a complicated process that implicates cell specification and differentiation, including tissue formation, shaping and alteration, to create a functional organ. The zebrafish has become a potential model system to disentangle the fundamental genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of cardiac development and function. The liver is one of the essential organ in mammals. It performs many functions such as help the body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons. The liver also completes many regulatory functions that are critical to fetal development and to life in general. However, failure to perform theses function can result in many mammal liver diseases. Hepatomegaly is a symptom that associate with several liver disorders. Surveys had shown that a large number of the death in the US is caused by chronic liver disease. Liver cancer is another type of liver diseases that is one of the main cause of cancer-related death worldwide.
The Hepatitis B virus is a disease that affects the liver and results in swelling and loss of normal function in the liver. It is estimated that 350 million people are infected with Hepatitis B worldwide, with 50 million new cases diagnosed every year.(1) In the Unit...
The Hepatitis A Virus affects many different systems within the body. The first being the digestive system and the gastrointestinal system because Hepatitis A causes an acute liver infection. The liver’s job is to process nutrients, filter the blood and toxin from your body, and fight infections. It produces important blood components, proteins, and bile which helps you digest food. The liver also stores glucose and vitamins. The Hepatitis A Virus causes inflammation that interrupts the liver’s ability to perform these vital functions. Having a healthy liver is crucial to your health because it supports many other body systems. For example, one function of the liver is to produce bile which is needed to break down fats. The body stores bile in the gallbladder and then sends it to the beginning section of the small intestine. Bile is then combined with other digestive
You look in the mirror and see that your skin and eyes seem a yellowish color, your legs and ankles are swollen, you have abdominal pain and swelling, your skin is also itchy, you have dark urine, and notice that your stool is a pale color. What do these symptoms mean? These are symptoms of damage to the liver. There are many ways to damage your liver like the use of alcohol, but a way you may not be aware of is the use of medication. Some medications when used repeatedly can cause liver damage, such as acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol.
The sonographic appearance varies depending on of the Hepatitis is acute or chronic. In acute hepatitis you will see a normal texture or portal veins will be more prominent. The liver appears hypoechoic. Attenuation might be present in acute Hepatitis. Gallbladder walls are thickened and hepatosplenomegaly. In chronic Hepatitis the parenchyma will appear coarsed with decreased brightness of the portal triad. Attentuaion is not as great in chronic Hepatitis. Fibrosis may occur with soft shadowing. The size of the liver is decreased and appears hyperechoic.
Liver disease resulting from alcohol affects more than two million Americans and is one of the primary causes of illness and death. The liver frees the body of harmful substances, such as alcohol. While the liver breaks down alcohol, it produces toxins that can be even more dangerous than the alcohol consumed (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). “These by-products damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken the body’s natural defenses. Eventually, these problems can disrupt the body’s metabolism and impair the function of other organs” (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). A condition called steatosis is the result of fat build up in the liver and is the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease. This condition causes the liver difficulty breaking down alcohol, potentially resulting in alcoholic hepatitis. Fibrosis of the liver, which is also related to heavy drinking, causes scar tissue to build up in the liver. The alcohol alters chemicals that the liver needs to break down this scar tissue, causing liver dysfunctions. If one does not refrain from drinking during the condition of fibrosis, the scar tissue can build up and create another condition, called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is deterioration of the liver resulting from heavy scarring, causing the liver to not be able to function properly. If cirrhosis becomes severe, a liver transplant may be the only solution (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 14). It is difficult to calculate when a person would develop cirrhosis, because an alcoholic could never develop the disease, but someone who social drinks could. It is also unknown why cirrhosis is more prevalent in women (...
Autoimmune hepatitis is reported to become present after a person is infected with Hepatitis A. Autoimmune hepatitis occurs when the liver is attacked by the body’s immune system. Another complication associated with hepatitis A is relapsing hepatitis.
Hepatitis A is a virus or an infection that causes liver disease and inflammation of the liver. According to Centers for Disease and Prevention, hepatitis A is a self- limited disease that does not cause a chronic infection and it is rarely fatal. The virus is an infectious disease of the liver which cannot be transmitted by sneezing and coughing. It is usually transmitted from person to person through the feces or the mouth, from consuming contaminated food or water. Many people do not experience any symptoms of hepatitis A, but if someone was to get it, then the symptoms could last from 2 weeks to 6 weeks. The blood is tested to determine how the liver is functioning. The blood is usually taken from the vein in the arm and
What is hepatic cirrhosis? According to the medical dictionary hepatic cirrhosis is when scar tissue replaces the liver’s healthy tissue. This disease changes the structure of the liver and blood vessels that nurture it. It reduces the liver’s capability to produce proteins and process hormones, nutrients, medications, and poisons. Cirrhosis is an illness that gets worse over time and possibly can become life threatening. This serious illness is ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. It is the third most common cause of death for adults between 45 and 65 years of age. It occurs in more than fifty percent of undernourished chronic alcoholics. Unfortunately it kills about 35,000 people per year. In other country’s such as Africa and Asia death from cirrhosis is usually caused by hepatitis B.
In septic patients, increased levels of PAI-1 inhibit plasminogen activator (t-PA), which converts plasminogen to plasmin. Release of fibrin inhibits fibrinolysis by activation of thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI). In addition, the release of PAF causes platelet aggregation. This combination of inhibition of fibrinolysis, fibrin strand production and platelet aggregation contribute to a state of coagulopathy. This can lead to microcirculatory dysfunction with isolated or multiple organ dysfunction and cell death. Mr Hertz’s coagulation profile showed a fibrinogen level of 5.6 g/L, indicating that coagulopathies were underway in his system.
This case study is about Abdul Chidiac, a 51 year old male, married with 4 children. He had a medical history of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and cirrhosis with two admissions in the last six months. He is a smoker and drinks beer, 5-6 bottles per day. As Carithers & McClain (2010) explained the patient’s medical history is another indicator of the risk for cirrhosis; the progression to cirrhosis is adaptable and may take time over weeks or many years. Cirrhosis is a liver disease characterized by permanent scarring of the liver that interferes with its normal functions including alcoholism. Most people who drink large amounts of alcohol cause harm to the liver in some way (Heidelbaugh & Bruderly, 2006). The cause of cirrhosis is not yet known, but the connection between cirrhosis and excessive alcohol ingestion is established (Jenkins & Johnson, 2010). Common causes of cirrhosis include: alcohol abuse, hepatitis B infection, hepatitis C infection and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (Schuppan & Afdhal, 2008).
The main causes of liver failure include hepatitis B, hepatitis C, long-term alcohol consumption, cirrhosis and malnutrition (WebMD, n.d.). It is crucial that the affected person applies for a liver transplant. A liver transplant is an operation in which the patient’s damaged liver is replaced with a healthy liver from a donor. There are three main types of liver transplant: orthotopic transplant, the most common type of transplant, where the patient’s liver is replaced by a liver from a deceased donor; living donor transplant, where a living person willingly donates his liver for the patient; and split type of liver transplant: where the liver of a deceased donor is split into the two lobes and given to two recipients, applicable if the patients are an adult and a child ( The United States alone performs around 6,000 transplants a year (American Liver Foundation, 2013), and has performed 592,589 to date since 1988, according to OTPN (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network) statistics. Patients have an 86% chance and a 78% chance of living one and three years after a transplant.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may begin as a single tumor that grows larger over time or as a group of small tumors on and inside the liver that multiply and grow. HCC is most common in people with cirrhosis (chronic liver damage) or Hepatitis, and it is the most common form of liver cancer in adults. This type of liver cancer accounts for 4 out of 5 primary liver cancer diagnosis.
The pancreas is one of the essential organs in the human body and belongs in the Digestive system. Out of all the internal organs, the pancreas is unique because the pancreas plays a role in both the endocrine gland and the exocrine gland. This means that the pancreas is a dual function gland in which is the reason why the pancreas is such a vital part of the digestive system. This research paper will talk about the anatomy, physiology, and the important functions the pancreas play to maintain homeostasis.