Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis

The abdomen of a person with cirrhosis showing massive fluid buildup and very visible veins
Pronunciation	/sɪˈroʊsɪs/
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Gastroenterology
ICD-10	K70.3, K71.7, K74
ICD-9-CM	571
DiseasesDB	2729
MedlinePlus	000255
eMedicine	med/3183 radio/175
Patient UK	Cirrhosis
MeSH	D008103
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Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver does not function properly due to long-term damage. Typically, the disease comes on slowly over months or years. Early on, there are often no symptoms. As the disease worsens, a person may become tired, weak, itchy, have swelling in the lower legs, develop yellow skin, bruise easily, have fluid build up in the abdomen, or develop spider-like blood vessels on the skin. The fluid build-up in the abdomen may become spontaneously infected. Other complications include hepatic encephalopathy, bleeding from dilated veins in the esophagus or dilated stomach veins, and liver cancer. Hepatic encephalopathy results in confusion and possibly unconsciousness.

Cirrhosis is most commonly caused by alcohol, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Typically, more than two or three drinks per day over a number of years is required for alcoholic cirrhosis to occur. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is due to a number of reasons, including being overweight, diabetes, high blood fats, and high blood pressure. A number of less common causes include autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, hemochromatosis, certain medications, and gallstones. Cirrhosis is characterized by the replacement of normal liver tissue by scar tissue. These changes lead to loss of liver function. Diagnosis is based on blood testing, medical imaging, and liver biopsy.