cirrhosis

cirrhosis

any of various progressive diseases of the liver, characterized by death of liver cells, irreversible fibrosis, etc.: caused by inadequate diet, excessive alcohol, chronic infection, etc.

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

cirrhosis

[sə′rō·səs]

(medicine)

A progressive, inflammatory disease of the liver characterized by a real or apparent increase in the proportion of hepatic connective tissue.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Cirrhosis

 

cicatricial shrinkage and deformity of an organ caused by infectious diseases, poisonings, metabolic disturbances, and other factors. Cirrhosis mostly affects parenchymatous organs, for example, the liver (which acquires a yellowish color as a result), the kidneys (nephrocirrhosis), and lungs (interstitial pneumonia). The morphological manifestations of cirrhosis include degeneration and necrosis of parenchymatous elements, distorted regeneration, diffuse proliferation of connective tissues (sclerosis), and structural reorganization and deformity of the organ. Chronic functional insufficiency of the affected organ is one of the main clinical symptoms. Since the proliferation of connective tissues may be due to a variety of factors, a distinction is made between postnecrotic, inflammatory, angiogenic, and metabolic forms of cirrhosis. The disease is believed to be reversible in its early stages.

V. V. SEROV

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.