The liver, which weights approximately 3 lbs., provides more than 500 vital functions for the body, according to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. In addition to producing many different proteins and enzymes, the liver filters the blood flowing from the stomach and intestines. Cirrhosis, a chronic liver disease, develops over time and usually fails to produce any symptoms until liver function becomes inhibited enough to cause complications.
Disease Progression
Cirrhosis occurs when liver cells become damaged, such as due to exposure to chemicals, toxins or viruses. Ingesting excessive amounts of alcohol or developing a chronic hepatitis infection are the most common causes of cirrhosis in the United States, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. The liver can repair mild damage, but continuous damage leads to the formation of scar tissue in the liver, the characteristic feature of cirrhosis. As more and more scar tissue forms, the liver fails to perform the necessary functions.
Blood Pressure
The liver holds approximately 13 percent of the body's total blood volume at any given time, according to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. The buildup of scar tissue inhibits the ability of blood to flow freely through the liver. This leads to increased blood pressure in the vein--known as the portal vein--carrying blood from the digestive tract to the liver. Portal hypertension, a common complication of cirrhosis, can lead to additional complications including the buildup of fluid in the extremities or abdominal cavity, weak blood vessels and internal bleeding.
Digestion
The liver produces the digestive juice known as bile, a substance necessary for the breakdown of fats. Cirrhosis can block the bile ducts inhibiting bile from flowing to the gallbladder and then the small intestine. Without bile the fats cannot breakdown into molecules the body can absorb, leading to fatty, oily stools. The liver also produces enzymes necessary for the digestion of carbohydrates and proteins. Cirrhosis inhibits this function and can lead to malnutrition.
Brain
As the liver filters blood it removes waste products, such as bilirubin, created from the breakdown of old red blood cells, and ammonia. Cirrhosis inhibits the ability of the liver to remove these waste products. As the toxic ammonia builds up in the blood it can travel to brain and inhibit normal brain functions. This leads to hepatic encephalopathy, a condition characterized by confusion, impaired judgment and changes in personality that can lead to coma or death.
Other Organs
Cirrhosis can block the bile ducts therefore trapping bile within the liver and the gallbladder, the organ connected to the liver that stores bile until needed by the small intestine. When bile cannot flow freely, substances can fall out of solution forming gallstones. Portal hypertension caused by cirrhosis can lead to an enlarged spleen, a condition known as splenomegaly. The enlarged spleen holds white blood cells and platelets, leaving fewer in the blood. This increases the risk for infections and causes the patient to bruise or bleed easily, as described by The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library.
