Cirrhosis

CIRRHOSIS

Cirrhosis is end- stage liver disease characterized by disruption of the liver archi-tecture by bands of fibrosis which divide the liver into nodules of regenerating liver parenchyma.

Causes of cirrhosis include alcohol, viral hepatitis, biliary tract disease, hemochro-matosis, cryptogenic/idiopathic, Wilson disease, and α-1-antitrypsin deficiency.

On gross Pathology, micronodular cirrhosis has nodules <3 mm, while macronodu-lar cirrhosis has nodules >3 mm; mixed micronodular and macronodular cirrhosis can also occur. At the end stage, most diseases result in a mixed pattern, and the etiology may not be distinguished based on the appearance.

Cirrhosis has a multitude of consequences, including portal hypertension, asci-tes, splenomegaly/hypersplenism, esophageal varices, hemorrhoids, caput medusa, decreased detoxification, hepatic encephalopathy, spider angiomata, palmar ery-thema, gynecomastia, decreased synthesic function, hepatorenal syndrome and coagulopathy.