Liver: Medical Flashcards
How many lobes does the liver have?
3
Right left and caudate
How many blood supplies does liver have?
2
Hepatic arterial and portal venous (65% from portal vein)
What drains blood from the liver?
Hepatic vein
What drains bile from liver?
Biliary tract
What is in the portal triads/tracts?
Hepatic artery, portal vein, bile duct
What is the anatomical unit of the liver? Which direction does the blood flow?
Hepatic lobule
Hexagonal structure, at the apical points are the portal tracts and in the centre is the hepatic vein.
Blood flows form portal tracts to the centre of the lobule
Difference between liver lobules and acini?
Lobules= structural unit, hexagonal unit with central vein at the centre
Acini= functional, centred on the dual blood supply with the central veins at the periphery. Divided into zones 1-3 of oxygenation
Functions of hepatocytes
Synthesis:
- Bilirubin
- Albumin
- Clotting factors
Metabolise:
-Drugs
Contain:
-Enzymes (ALT/AST/GGT)
Which is a better marker of acute severe liver injury, albumin or coagulation factors?
Coagulation factors as albumin has a much longer half life
Where is ALP normally found?
In bile
Can b raised due to muscle or bone damage
Which viruses can affect the liver?
Hepatitis A,B,C,E
Rarely EBV or CMV
Imiaging investigations for any suspected liver disease? (4)
USS/CT for bile duct dilation
ERCP/MRCP to further assess bile duct dilatation
Endoluminal USS to look for mass in pancreatic head
Fibroscan for cirrhosis
CT/MRI liver
Liver biopsy
Does the liver produce immunoglobulins?
No
Causes of acute liver injury?
Viral hepatitis Alcohol Drugs Autoimmune Biliary disease
What is chronic hepatitis?
Hepatitis > 6 months
At what bilirubin level is there clinical jaundice?
> 30 micromol/L
Hyperbilirubinaemia is >22
Most common cause of pre-hepatic jaundice?
Haemolytic anaemia (sickle cell, thalassaemia, drugs, infections)
Causes of hepatic jaundice
Viral hepatitis Alcoholic hepatitis Drug induced liver disease Autoimmune liver disease PSC, PBC
**End stage cirrhosis (decompensation)
What causes cholestasis in liver?
Damage to hepatocytes or intra- or extrahepatic obstruction
What pattern of necrosis is seen with paracetamol toxicity?
Confluent (Centrizonal) necrosis
What pattern of necrosis is seen with individual hepatocyte death?
Spotty necrosis
What patterns of liver injury can be caused by drugs?
Fatty change Centrilobular necrosis Massive necrosis Hepatitis Fibrosis Granulomatous reaction Cholestasis
Causes of chronic liver disease
Viral hepatitis Autoimmune hepatitis Drug induced Alcohol NAFLD PSC/PBC **Metabolic: Haemochromatosis, Wilson's, anti alpha trypsin 1
What is secondary biliary cirrhosis?
Chronic biliary obstruction leading to liver cirrhosis
Causes of extrahepatic biliary obstruction
Stones
Benign stricture from PSC
Tumour
Symptoms of PBC
Middle aged females
Itch
Jaundice
What markers are raised in PBC?
*AMA (anti mitochondrial antibodies)
ALP and cholesterol
Histology: Portal tract lymphocytic infiltrate which destroys bile ducts +/- granulomas
PBC
What is ductopaenia?
Bile duct destruction