What Is Cirrhosis?

Cirrhosis is a condition that affects the liver. Weighs about 3 pounds the liver is located in the upper right side of the abdomen, below the ribs. When specific diseases cause the liver to become permanently injured and scarred, the condition is called cirrhosis.

The scar tissue that forms in cirrhosis harms the structure of the liver, blocking the flow of blood through the organ. The loss of normal liver tissue slows the processing of nutrients, hormones, drugs, and toxins by the liver. Also slowed is production of proteins and other substances made by the liver.

Cirrhosis is the seventh leading cause of death by disease in the U.S. Nationally, about 25,000 people die from cirrhosis each year. There also is a great toll in terms of human suffering, hospital costs, and the loss of work by people with cirrhosis.