Fatty liver

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**Fatty liver**
*Classifications and external resources*
ICD-10	K 70., K 76.0
ICD-9	571.0, 571.8
DiseasesDB	18844
eMedicine	med/775
MeSH	C06.552.241

Fatty liver (or steatorrhoeic hepatosis or steatosis hepatis) is a reversible condition where large vacuoles of lipid accumulate in hepatocytes (the cells of the liver). It may be caused by various diseases, such as in chronic alcoholism and obesity.

Accumulation of fat in liver cells may cause the liver to enlarge. The lipid within the vacuoles is a particular type of lipid known as triglyceride. Triglyceride molecules consist of a glycerol backbone with three fatty acid molecules joined on.

1 Causes
2 Pathology
3 Treatment and prevention
4 External links

[edit] Causes

Many chemicals, such as alcohol and drugs can cause fatty liver.

Fatty liver can occur in diabetes mellitus and in pregnancy (acute fatty liver of pregnancy). It can also be seen both in starvation (especially rapid weight loss) and in obesity. In addition, it is also a minor symptom of hepatitis that may indicate progression to cirrhosis.

[edit] Pathology

Fatty change represents the intracytoplasmic accumulation of triglyceride (neutral fats). At the beginning, the hepatocytes present small fat vacuoles (liposomes) around the nucleus - microvesicular fatty change. In the late stages, the size of the vacuoles increases pushing the nucleus to the periphery of the cell - macrovesicular fatty change. These vesicles are well delineated and optically "empty" because fats solves during tissue processing. Large vacuoles may coalesce, producing fatty cysts - which are irrevesible lesions. [1]

Severe fatty liver is accompanied by inflammation, a situation that is referred to as steatohepatitis. The degree of inflammation is related to its progression to more severe forms of liver disease, ultimately cirrhosis. If this occurs in a non-alcoholic patient without viral liver disease, the condition is termed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.