Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Ballooning degeneration – hepatocytes in the setting of alcoholic change often swell up with excess fat, water and protein; normally these proteins are exported into the bloodstream. Accompanied with ballooning, there is necrotic damage. The swelling is capable of blocking nearby biliary ducts, leading to diffuse cholestasis. [6]
The liver plays a vital role in many metabolic processes in the body including protein synthesis, detoxification, nutrient storage (such as glycogen), platelet production and clearance of bilirubin. With progressive liver damage; hepatocyte death and replacement of functional liver tissue with fibrosis in cirrhosis, these processes are disrupted.
The main liver cells are called hepatocytes; however, there are other cells that can be observed in a liver sample such as Kupffer cells (macrophages). [2] The liver is the biggest gland of the body. It has a wide variety of functions that range from the destruction of old blood cells to the control of the whole metabolism of macromolecules . [ 3 ]
Each cell has several long cytoplasmic protrusions that extend from the cell body and wrap around the sinusoids. [5] The lipid droplets in the cell body store vitamin A as retinyl palmitate. [6] Hepatic stellate cells store 50–80% of the body's vitamin A. [6] The function and role of quiescent hepatic stellate cells is unclear.
Cirrhosis is a late stage of serious liver disease marked by inflammation (swelling), fibrosis (cellular hardening) and damaged membranes preventing detoxification of chemicals in the body, ending in scarring and necrosis (cell death). [11] Between 10% and 20% of heavy drinkers will develop cirrhosis of the liver (NIAAA, 1993).
Extensive damage and scarring of the liver over time defines cirrhosis, a condition in which the liver's ability to function is permanently impeded. [19] This results in jaundice, weight loss, coagulopathy, ascites (abdominal fluid collection), and peripheral edema (leg swelling). [ 20 ]
Wilson's disease, a condition where copper builds up in the body, can be managed with drugs that bind copper, allowing it to be passed from the body in urine. [59] In cholestatic liver disease, (where the flow of bile is affected due to cystic fibrosis [60]) a medication called ursodeoxycholic acid may be given. [61]
Micrograph showing a Mallory body with the characteristic twisted-rope appearance (centre of image - within a ballooning hepatocyte). H&E stain. In histopathology, a Mallory body, Mallory–Denk body (MDB), or Mallory's hyaline is an inclusion found in the cytoplasm of liver cells. [1] Mallory bodies are damaged intermediate filaments within ...