National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Liver Diseases is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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National Institutes of Health
Liver Diseases
Also called: Hepatic disease
Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It filters harmful substances from the blood, makes substances that digest food, and changes food into energy.
There are many kinds of liver diseases. Viruses cause some of them, like hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Others can be the result of drugs, poisons or drinking too much alcohol. If the liver forms scar tissue because of an illness, it's called cirrhosis. Jaundice, or yellowing ofthe skin, can be one sign of liver disease.
Cancer can affect the liver. You could also inherit a liver disease such as hemochromatosis.
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Start Here
- Liver Problems(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Progression of Liver Disease(American Liver Foundation)
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
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Learn More
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Multimedia & Cool Tools
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For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
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The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
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Reference Shelf
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For You
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For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
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Overviews
- Liver Wellness(American Liver Foundation) - PDF
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Latest News
- Too Much Drinking, Weight May Harm Liver(04/27/2013, HealthDay)
- Scarring May Raise Death Risk from Fatty Liver Disease(04/16/2013, HealthDay)
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NIH Develops Improved Mouse Model of Alcoholic Liver Disease(02/28/2013, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Abdominal Ultrasound(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America)
- Also available in Spanish
- ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- AMA Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase) Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
- Know Your ALT(American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases)
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Liver Biopsy(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
- Liver Panel(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Manifestations of Liver Disease(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Needle Biopsy(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Protein Electrophoresis/Immunofixation Electrophoresis(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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Treatment
- Interventional Treatments for Liver Disease(Society of Interventional Radiology)
- Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America)
- Also available in Spanish
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Prevention/Screening
- 25 Ways to Love Your Liver(American Liver Foundation)
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Alternative Therapy
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Dandelion(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
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Kava Linked to Liver Damage(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
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Milk Thistle(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
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Dandelion
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Nutrition
- Diet and Your Liver(American Liver Foundation) - PDF
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Specific Conditions
- Acute Liver Failure(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Alagille Syndrome(National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse)
- Alcohol-Related Liver Disease(American Liver Foundation)
- Alcoholic Hepatitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Blood Vessel Disorders of the Liver(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Budd-Chiari Syndrome(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Enlarged Liver(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Gilbert's Syndrome(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Liver Cysts: A Cause of Abdominal Pain?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Liver Hemangioma(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)(North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition) - PDF
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Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
- Portal Hypertension(Merck & Co., Inc.)
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Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
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Related Issues
- Ascites(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Careful: Acetaminophen in Pain Relief Medicines Can Cause Liver Damage(Food and Drug Administration)
- Cirrhosis and Portal Hypertension(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatic Encephalopathy(American Liver Foundation)
- High-Protein Diets: Are They Safe?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Zellweger Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
- Short Summary
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Alagille Syndrome(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Fatty Liver(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Liver Diseases(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Alagille Syndrome
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Genetics
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Genetics Home Reference: Alagille syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Childhood myocerebrohepatopathy spectrum(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Cholesteryl ester storage disease(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Congenital hepatic fibrosis(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Crigler-Najjar syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Gilbert syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Glycogen storage disease type III(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Glycogen storage disease type VI(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Hepatic veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: MPV17-related hepatocerebral mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Rotor syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Tyrosinemia(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Alagille syndrome
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Research
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LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Library of Medicine)
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Magnetic Resonance Elastography May Alleviate the Need for Invasive Liver Biopsies(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
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Tale of Two Livers - Developing an Innovative Drug Screening Tool(National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering)
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Vitamin E Helps Diminish a Type of Fatty Liver Disease in Children(National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse)
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LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
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Digestive Diseases Dictionary
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
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Digestive Diseases Dictionary
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Directories
- Find a Liver Expert(American College of Gastroenterology)
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Organizations
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Statistics
- FastStats: Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis(National Center for Health Statistics)
- Liver Facts(American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases)
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Children
- Alagille Syndrome(American Liver Foundation)
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Biliary Atresia(National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse)
- Galactosemia(American Liver Foundation)
- Type I Glycogen Storage Disease(American Liver Foundation)
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Women
- Pregnancy and Liver Function(American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases)
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Patient Handouts
- Abdominal CT scan
- Also available in Spanish
- Abdominal MRI
- Also available in Spanish
- Abdominal tap
- Also available in Spanish
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Also available in Spanish
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Also available in Spanish
- Amebic liver abscess
- Also available in Spanish
- Ascites
- Also available in Spanish
- Diet - liver disease
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatic encephalopathy
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatic hemangioma
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatic ischemia
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatocerebral degeneration
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatomegaly
- Also available in Spanish
- Liver biopsy
- Also available in Spanish
- Liver disease
- Also available in Spanish
- Liver scan
- Also available in Spanish
- Portacaval shunting
- Also available in Spanish
- Pyogenic liver abscess
- Also available in Spanish
- Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
- 5'-nucleotidase
- Abdominal CT scan
- Abdominal MRI
- Abdominal tap
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Albumin - serum
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Aldolase test
- ALP
- ALP isoenzyme test
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ALT
Amebic liver abscess
Ammonium ion
Antimitochondrial antibody
Ascites
AST
Autoimune liver disease panel
Biliary atresia
Bilirubin - urine
Bleeding esophageal varices
Diet - liver disease
Ferritin
Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase
Hepatic encephalopathy
Hepatic hemangioma
Hepatic ischemia
Hepatic vein obstruction (Budd-Chiari)
Hepatocerebral degeneration
Hepatomegaly
Lactate dehydrogenase test
LDH isoenzymes
Leucine aminopeptidase - blood
Leucine aminopeptidase - urine
Liver biopsy
Liver disease
Liver scan
Peritonitis - secondary
Peritonitis - spontaneous
Phosphorus - blood
Portacaval shunting
Protein electrophoresis - serum
Pyogenic liver abscess
Quantitative nephelometry
TBG level - blood
Total iron binding capacity
Total protein
Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)
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