Cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis often results from chronic alcoholism or infection with hepatitis viruses. In this disease, portions of the liver are repeatedly destroyed and replaced at the expense of the hepatic architecture. Scarring disrupts the sinusoids and this results in the backup of blood in the portal vein and portal hypertension. Hepatocytes are still present here, but note the dense connective tissue bands that have formed throughout the sinusoids. How would you expect these changes to compromise liver function?

Answer: The sinusoids would function less well at exposing the hepatocytes to the blood; the hepatocytes would do less of a good job at filtering the blood.