Liver cirrhosis is a late-stage condition wherein healthy liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue, known as fibrosis, which impairs the capability of the liver to function properly. Cirrhosis is the result of long-term, continuous damage to the liver, usually from chronic diseases or other harmful conditions. Here’s what generally happens along the path of developing cirrhosis:
- Liver Damage and Inflammation
Consequently, inflammation of the liver may be caused by several factors, including chronic intake of alcoholic beverages, viral infections such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C, and NAFLD. The chronic inflammation leads to scarring of the liver cells and its trying to repair and regenerate these cells. This injury and repair to the liver, over time, leads to the creation of scar tissue. - The Creation of Scar Tissue (Fibrosis)
The liver, in its effort to heal itself of the injury or inflammation, gradually replaces healthy liver cells with fibrous scar tissue. Scar tissue does not work like normal liver tissue.
Scar tissue is evidence of cirrhosis. The distortion seen in the liver’s structure results in blockages of blood flow through the organ, as well as keeping the liver from detoxifying substances and processing nutrients after digestion, converting them into proteins that are so critical to life. - Impaired Blood Flow
This scar tissue resists the passage of blood through the liver. Consequently, blood pressure increases in the portal vein, the vein that carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver. A complication called portal hypertension arises.
Because portal hypertension requires that blood take a detour around the liver, the condition often results in the appearance of varices, swollen veins in the esophagus or stomach. These varices may burst and give rise to alarming internal bleeding. - Impairment of Liver Function
The liver plays a very important role in the body by filtering the blood for toxins, producing bile for digestion, and synthesizing proteins such as albumin and clotting factors. All these are impaired in cirrhosis.
This can lead to:
Jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes) due to accumulation of bilirubin.
Ascites or fluid accumulation in the abdomen may be due to lack of protein synthesis and increased portal pressure.
Coagulopathy: an increased bleeding tendency because of the inability of the liver to produce appropriate amounts of clotting factors. Encephalopathy: the toxins, especially ammonia, accumulate in the blood, leading to confusion, somnolence, and even coma due to the liver’s incompetence in detoxifying the blood.
