Disease Left lobe<unk>  tumor The<unk>  is a vital organ and supports almost every other organ in the body. Because of its strategic location and multidimensional functions, the<unk>  is also prone to many diseases. The bare area of the<unk>  is a site that is vulnerable to the passing of infection from the abdominal cavity to the thoracic cavity.<unk>  diseases may be diagnosed by<unk>  function tests–blood tests that can identify various markers. For example, acute-phase reactants are produced by the<unk>  in response to injury or inflammation. Hepatitis is a common condition of inflammation of the<unk> . The most usual cause of this is viral, and the most common of these infections are hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Some of these infections are sexually transmitted. Inflammation can also be caused by other viruses in the family Herpesviridae such as the herpes simplex virus. Chronic (rather than acute) infection with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus is the main cause of<unk>  cancer. Globally, about 248 million individuals are chronically infected with hepatitis B (with 843,724 in the U.S.), and 142 million are chronically infected with hepatitis C (with 2.7 million in the U.S.). Globally there are about 114 million and 20 million cases of hepatitis A and hepatitis E respectively, but these generally resolve and do not become chronic. Hepatitis D virus is a "satellite" of hepatitis B virus (can only infect in the presence of hepatitis B), and co-infects nearly 20 million people with hepatitis B, globally. Hepatic encephalopathy is caused by an accumulation of toxins in the bloodstream that are normally removed by the<unk> . This condition can result in coma and can prove fatal. Budd–Chiari syndrome is a condition caused by blockage of the hepatic veins (including thrombosis) that drain the<unk> . It presents with the<unk> assical triad of abdominal pain, ascites and<unk>  enlargement. Many diseases of the<unk>  are accompanied by jaundice caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the system. The bilirubin results from the breakup of the hemoglobin of dead red blood cells; normally, the<unk>  removes bilirubin from the blood and excretes it through bile. Other disorders caused by excessive alcohol consumption are grouped under alcoholic<unk>  diseases and these include alcoholic hepatitis, fatty<unk> , and cirrhosis. Factors contributing to the development of alcoholic<unk>  diseases are not only the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption, but can also include gender, genetics, and<unk>  insult.<unk>  damage can also be caused by drugs, particularly paracetamol and drugs used to treat cancer. A rupture of the<unk>  can be caused by a<unk>  shot used in combat sports. Primary biliary cholangitis is an autoimmune disease of the<unk> . It is marked by slow progressive destruction of the small bile ducts of the<unk> , with the intralobular ducts (Canals of Hering) affected early in the disease. When these ducts are damaged, bile and other toxins build up in the<unk>  (cholestasis) and over time damages the<unk>  tissue in combination with ongoing immune related damage. This can lead to scarring (fibrosis) and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis increases the resistance to blood flow in the<unk> , and can result in portal hypertension. Congested anastomoses between the portal venous system and the systemic circulation, can be a subsequent condition. There are also many pediatric<unk>  diseases, including biliary atresia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, alagille syndrome, progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, Langerhans cell histiocytosis and hepatic hemangioma a benign tumour the most common type of<unk>  tumour, thought to be congenital. A genetic disorder causing multiple cysts to form in the<unk>  tissue, usually in later life, and usually asymptomatic, is polycystic<unk>  disease. Diseases that interfere with<unk>  function will lead to derangement of these processes. However, the<unk>  has a great capacity to regenerate and has a large reserve capacity. In most cases, the<unk>  only produces symptoms after extensive damage. Hepatomegaly refers to an enlarged<unk>  and can be due to many causes. It can be palpated in a<unk>  span measurement. Symptoms The<unk> assic symptoms of<unk>  damage include the following: * Pale stools occur when stercobilin, a brown pigment, is absent from the stool. Stercobilin is derived from bilirubin metabolites produced in the<unk> . * Dark urine occurs when bilirubin mixes with urine * Jaundice (yellow skin and/or whites of the eyes) This is where bilirubin deposits in skin, causing an intense itch. Itching is the most common complaint by people who have<unk>  failure. Often this itch cannot be relieved by drugs. * Swelling of the abdomen, and swelling of the ankles and feet occurs because the<unk>  fails to make albumin. * Excessive fatigue occurs from a generalized loss of nutrients, minerals and vitamins. * Bruising and easy bleeding are other features of<unk>  disease. The<unk>  makes<unk> otting factors, substances which help prevent bleeding. When<unk>  damage occurs, these factors are no longer present and severe bleeding can occur. * Pain in the upper right quadrant can result from the stretching of Glisson's capsule in conditions of hepatitis and pre-eclampsia. Diagnosis The diagnosis of<unk>  disease is made by<unk>  function tests, groups of blood tests, that can readily show the extent of<unk>  damage. If infection is suspected, then other serological tests will be carried out. A physical examination of the<unk>  can only reveal its size and any tenderness, and some form of imaging such as an ultrasound or CT scan may also be needed. Sometimes a<unk>  biopsy will be necessary, and a tissue sample is taken through a needle inserted into the skin just below the rib cage. This procedure may be helped by a sonographer providing ultrasound guidance to an interventional radiologist. File:Axial CT anomalous hepatic veins.Axial CT image showing anomalous hepatic veins coursing on the subcapsular anterior surface of the<unk> . File:Anterior MIP image of anomalous hepatic veins.Maximum intensity projection (MIP) CT image as viewed anteriorly showing the anomalous hepatic veins coursing on the anterior surface of the<unk>  File:Lateral MIP CT of anomalous surface hepatic veins.Lateral MIP view in the same patient File:CTscanofmyLiver.A CT scan in which the<unk>  and portal vein are shown.<unk>  regeneration The<unk>  is the only human internal organ capable of natural regeneration of lost tissue; as little as 25% of a<unk>  can regenerate into a whole<unk> . This is, however, not true regeneration but rather compensatory growth in mammals. The lobes that are removed do not regrow and the growth of the<unk>  is a restoration of function, not original form. This contrasts with true regeneration where both original function and form are restored. In some other species, such as zebrafish, the<unk>  undergoes true regeneration by restoring both shape and size of the organ. In the<unk> , large areas of the tissues are formed but for the formation of new cells there must be sufficient amount of material so the circulation of the blood becomes more active. This is predominantly due to the hepatocytes re-entering the cell cycle. That is, the hepatocytes go from the quiescent G0 phase to the G1 phase and undergo mitosis. This process is activated by the p75 receptors. There is also some evidence of bipotential stem cells, called hepatic oval cells or ovalocytes (not to be confused with oval red blood cells of ovalocytosis), which are thought to reside in the canals of Hering. These cells can differentiate into either hepatocytes or cholangiocytes. Cholangiocytes are the epithelial lining cells of the bile ducts. They are cuboidal epithelium in the small interlobular bile ducts, but become columnar and mucus secreting in larger bile ducts approaching the porta hepatis and the extrahepatic ducts. Research is being carried out on the use of stem cells for the generation of an artificial<unk> . Scientific and medical works about<unk>  regeneration often refer to the Greek Titan Prometheus who was chained to a rock in the Caucasus where, each day, his<unk>  was devoured by an eagle, only to grow back each night. The myth suggests the ancient Greeks may have known about the<unk> 's remarkable capacity for self-repair.<unk>  transplantation Human<unk>  transplants were first performed by Thomas Starzl in the United States and Roy Calne in Cambridge, England in 1963 and 1967, respectively. After resection of left lobe<unk>  tumor<unk>  transplantation is the only option for those with irreversible<unk>  failure. Most transplants are done for chronic<unk>  diseases leading to cirrhosis, such as chronic hepatitis C, alcoholism, and autoimmune hepatitis. Less commonly,<unk>  transplantation is done for fulminant hepatic failure, in which<unk>  failure occurs over days to weeks.<unk>  allografts for transplant usually come from donors who have died from fatal brain injury. Living donor<unk>  transplantation is a technique in which a portion of a living person's<unk>  is removed (hepatectomy) and used to replace the entire<unk>  of the recipient. This was first performed in 1989 for pediatric<unk>  transplantation. Only 20 percent of an adult's<unk>  (Couinaud segments 2 and 3) is needed
Liver
Kidney
Lung
Heart
Brain
Central nervous system
Breast
Peripheral nervous system