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Age spots are small, flat dark areas on the skin. They vary in size and usually appear on areas exposed to the sun, such as the face, hands, shoulders and arms. Age spots are also called sunspots, liver spots and solar lentigines.
Diagnosing age spots might include: Visual inspection. Your doctor can usually diagnose age spots by looking at your skin. It's important to distinguish age spots from other skin disorders because the treatments differ and using the wrong procedure may delay other needed therapy. Skin biopsy.
An expert explains. Learn more from liver surgeon Sean Cleary, M.D. Show transcript. Liver cancer Enlarge image. Liver cancer is cancer that begins in the cells of your liver. Your liver is a football-sized organ that sits in the upper right portion of your abdomen, beneath your diaphragm and above your stomach.
Liver problems that can occur include fatty liver disease and cirrhosis. The liver and its cells, as seen through a microscope, change greatly when a liver becomes fatty or cirrhotic. Liver disease doesn't always cause symptoms that can be seen or felt.
Rather than a disease, an enlarged liver is a sign of an underlying problem, such as liver disease, congestive heart failure or cancer. Treatment involves identifying and controlling the cause of the condition.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, often called NAFLD, is a liver problem that affects people who drink little to no alcohol. In NAFLD, too much fat builds up in the liver. It is seen most often in people who are overweight or obese.
An ultrasound, CT scan and MRI can show liver damage. Checking a tissue sample. Removing a tissue sample, called a biopsy, from the liver may help diagnose liver disease. A liver biopsy is most often done using a long needle put through the skin to get a tissue sample. The sample is then sent to a lab for testing.
A healthy liver, at left, shows no signs of scarring. In cirrhosis, at right, scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue. Cirrhosis is severe scarring of the liver. This serious condition can be caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions, such as hepatitis or chronic alcoholism.
Learn more about the harmless dark spots on your skin that tend to appear as you age, especially in areas exposed to the sun. Treatment is available.
Acute liver failure is loss of liver function that happens quickly — in days or weeks — usually in a person who has no preexisting liver disease. It's most often caused by a hepatitis virus or drugs, such as acetaminophen.