Items tagged “liver”

Budd-Chiari syndrome, also known as hepatic venous outflow obstruction (HVOO), refers to the clinical picture that occurs when there is partial or complete obstruction of the hepatic veins.  There is no clear consensus regarding the number of occluded veins, some authors claim that there should...

Cholangiocarcinomas (bile duct cancers) are malignant epithelial tumors arising from the biliary tree, excluding the gallbladder or ampulla of Vater. Cholangiocarcinoma is the third most common primary hepatobiliary malignancy after hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and gallbladder cancer 23. They ...

Cirrhosis (plural: cirrhoses) is the common endpoint of a wide variety of chronic liver disease processes which cause hepatocellular necrosis. Cirrhosis can be diagnosed with ultrasound, CT, and MRI, and these imaging modalities can also be used to evaluate for possible complications of cirrhosi...

Focal hepatic steatosis, also known as focal hepatosteatosis or (erroneously) focal fatty infiltration, represents small areas of liver steatosis. In many cases, the phenomenon is believed to be related to the hemodynamics of a third inflow.   Terminology The term 'fatty infiltration of the li...

Hemochromatosis is an iron overload disorder characterized by a progressive increase in total body iron stores and deposition of iron in some non-reticuloendothelial system (RES) body organs which results in some instances of organ dysfunction. This article focuses on the general principles of ...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver. It is strongly associated with cirrhosis, from both alcohol and viral etiologies. Hepatocellular carcinomas constitute approximately 5% of all cancers partly due to the high endemic rates of hepatitis B infection ...

Hypervascular liver lesions are findings that enhance more or similarly to the background hepatic parenchyma in the late arterial phase, on contrast-enhanced CT or MRI. Differential diagnosis Primary lesions hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) most common hypervascular primary liver malignancy e...

Mallory bodies are cytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusions in hepatocytes, associated with ballooning and inflammation, found in: alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatitis non-alcoholic fatty liver disease hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) cholestasis

Portal hypertension is defined as hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) greater than 5 mmHg. HVPG is a surrogate for the portosystemic pressure gradient. Clinically significant portal hypertension is defined as a gradient greater than 10 mmHg and variceal bleeding may occur at a gradient great...

Hepatic hydatid disease is a parasitic zoonosis caused by the Echinococcus tapeworm. In the liver, two agents are recognized as causing disease in humans: Echinococcus granulosus Echinococcus multilocularis For a general discussion, and links to other system-specific manifestations, please r...

Variation in hepatic arterial anatomy is seen in 40-45% of people. Classic branching of the common hepatic artery from the celiac artery, and the proper hepatic artery into right and left hepatic arteries to supply the entire liver, is seen in 55-60% of the population.  Terminology An accessor...

The liver is the largest abdominal organ. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, hormone production, and detoxification. It is one of the very few organs that has the ability to re...

The falciform ligament is a broad and thin peritoneal ligament. It is sickle-shaped and a remnant of the ventral mesentery of the fetus. It is situated in an anteroposterior plane but lies obliquely so that one surface faces forward and is in contact with the peritoneum behind the right rectus ...

Hepatomegaly refers to an increase in size or enlargement of the liver.  Pathology Etiology Hepatomegaly can result from a vast range of pathology including, but not limited to, the following: malignancy/cellular infiltrate multiple metastases lymphoma(s) leukemia(s) hepatocellular carci...

Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is a regenerative mass lesion of the liver and the second most common benign liver lesion (the most common is a hemangioma). Many focal nodular hyperplasias have characteristic radiographic features on multimodality imaging, but some lesions may be atypical in app...

Diffuse hepatic steatosis, also known as fatty liver, is a common imaging finding and can lead to difficulties assessing the liver appearances, especially when associated with focal fatty sparing. Terminology The term 'fatty infiltration of the liver' is often erroneously used to describe live...