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Liver Diseases
Reviewed by Medicinsk Expert•Last updated: 2026-10-22•Digestive System

Liver Diseases

Liver disease encompasses a wide range of conditions affecting the body's largest internal organ, often diagnosed through imaging and liver function tests.

Overview

The liver is the largest organ inside your body. It plays a critical role in digesting food, storing energy, and removing poisons from the system.

Types of Liver Disease

There are many different kinds of liver diseases, including:

  • Viral infections: Such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
  • Damage from substances: Diseases caused by drugs, poisons, or excessive alcohol consumption, such as fatty liver disease and cirrhosis.
  • Liver cancer
  • Inherited conditions: Such as hemochromatosis and Wilson disease.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

Symptoms of liver disease can vary significantly and may sometimes be absent entirely. Common signs include:

  • Swelling of the abdomen and legs
  • Easy bruising
  • Changes in the color of stool and urine
  • Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)

Medical professionals use imaging tests and liver function tests to check for liver damage and to diagnose specific liver diseases.

Frequently Asked Questions

In many cases, early-stage liver disease, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (formerly NAFLD) or early alcoholic steatosis, can be stabilized and even reversed. Because the liver has a unique capacity to regenerate, interventions such as sustained weight reduction of 7 to 10 percent of body weight, maintaining strict glycemic control, eating a Mediterranean-style diet, and completely abstaining from alcohol can clear hepatic fat accumulation and reduce inflammation before permanent scarring (cirrhosis) develops.
Patients with liver disease must exercise caution with over-the-counter and prescription products. Acetaminophen can cause toxic liver injury and is generally limited to 2,000 mg or less per day in patients with chronic liver conditions under medical supervision. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen should be avoided in advanced liver disease due to risks of gastrointestinal bleeding and kidney impairment. In addition, unregulated dietary supplements—such as kava kava, comfrey, high-dose green tea extract, and certain bodybuilding compounds—carry established risks of hepatotoxicity.
Severe skin itching (pruritus) results from the buildup of bile acids and other systemic toxins when an impaired liver cannot adequately produce or excrete bile. Abdominal swelling (ascites) and leg swelling (edema) occur because a scarred liver produces less albumin—the protein responsible for keeping fluid inside blood vessels—while internal scarring creates high blood pressure in the portal vein (portal hypertension), which pushes fluid out of circulation and into abdominal tissues.
Immediate emergency evaluation is necessary if a patient vomits blood or dark material that looks like coffee grounds, passes black or tarry stools, or develops a high fever with sudden abdominal tenderness, which can indicate spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Emergency care is also vital if the person shows signs of hepatic encephalopathy, including acute confusion, slurred speech, marked drowsiness, or a distinct flapping tremor of the outstretched hands (asterixis).
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus brings together authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.

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