Hepatitis and my liver

Hepatitis, Liver, Infections, Hepatitis C

The term ‘hepatitis" implies an inflammation and impaired function of the liver. There are many causes of hepatitis including several infectious agents, toxic substances including alcohol and medicines, and mechanical blockages of the drainage system of the liver. Most commonly, the layperson’s use of the word hepatitis implies one of the infectious diseases caused by several different viruses. Our discussion of this subject is confined to a few of the more common infectious causes.

Anatomy and physiology of the liver

The liver is a large organ located in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen. Tremendous amounts of blood pass through the liver to be filtered and detoxified. In broad terms, the liver is similar to a recycling centre for the body. The liver and kidney process most of the blood-borne toxins in the body and either eliminate the hazards or convert them into a less hazardous form. The liver eliminates hazards and passes them into the stool, while the kidney eliminates hazards into the urine. Most medications are "metabolized" or changed to a different form in the liver. These different forms may be either more active or less active than the original form.

The liver also processes nutrients and assists in the conversion of food to nutrients. In this role, the liver may convert sugars into more complex substances to be used slowly by the body using insulin. It also converts dietary cholesterol and fats into the healthy and unhealthy forms of cholesterol. The liver aids in fat digestion by producing bile which is stored in the adjacent gall bladder. The liver is an essential organ for daily functioning of the body.

Viral infections of the liver

Small virus particles may infect the liver and impair its ability to function. When this occurs, individuals may feel acutely fatigued, feverish, nauseated and lose their appetite. The urine may become very dark as the body tries to excrete a breakdown product of blood called bilirubin through the urine instead of the normal pathway through the liver and into the stool. The skin may turn yellow (jaundice) due to bilirubin deposition in the skin. In addition to the illness caused in the individual by hepatitis, a significant danger lies in its transmissibility to other people. Chronic forms of hepatitis may develop that lead to liver failure and liver cancer. There are many forms of infectious hepatitis. The most common are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.