hepatitis
Sign in to saveHepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Hepatitis is acute if it resolves within six months, and chronic if it lasts longer than six months. Acute hepatitis can resolve on its own, progress to chronic hepatitis, or (rarely) result in acute liver failure. Chronic hepatitis may progress to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure, and liver cancer.
AI overview
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue that can range from causing no symptoms at all to causing jaundice, poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. It matters because acute hepatitis can sometimes progress to chronic hepatitis or serious complications like liver failure, and chronic hepatitis can eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Hepatitis
- Medical condition (new).image
- Alcoholic_hepatitis.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Alcoholic hepatitis as seen with a microscope, showing fatty changes (white circles), remnants of dead liver cells, and Mallory bodies (twisted-rope shaped inclusions within some liver cells). (H&E stain)
- Medical condition (new).field
- Infectious disease, gastroenterology, hepatology
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Yellowish skin, poor appetite, abdominal pain
- Medical condition (new).complications
- Scarring of the liver, liver failure, liver cancer
- Medical condition (new).duration
- Short term or long term
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Viral infections (Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E), alcohol, drugs/toxins, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders
- Medical condition (new).prevention
- Vaccination (for viral hepatitis), avoiding excessive alcohol
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Medication, liver transplant
Article
85 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Acute hepatitis
- Fulminant hepatitis
- Chronic hepatitis
- Causes
- Infectious
- Viral hepatitis
- Parasitic hepatitis
- Bacterial hepatitis
- Metabolic
- Alcoholic hepatitis
- Toxic and drug-induced hepatitis
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Autoimmune
- Genetic
- Ischemic hepatitis
- Other
- Mechanism
- Viral hepatitis
- Steatohepatitis
- Diagnosis
- Viral hepatitis
- Alcoholic versus non-alcoholic
- Virus screening
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis D
- Prevention
- Vaccines
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Other
- Behavioral changes
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B and C
- Hepatitis D
- Hepatitis E
- Alcoholic and metabolic hepatitis
- Successes
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Alcoholic hepatitis
- Treatment
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Acute
- Chronic
- Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis D
- Hepatitis E
- Alcoholic hepatitis
- Metabolic hepatitis
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- Prognosis
- Acute hepatitis
- Fulminant hepatitis
- Chronic hepatitis
- Epidemiology
- Viral hepatitis
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis D
- Hepatitis E
- Alcoholic hepatitis
- Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
- History
- Early observations
- Willowbrook State School experiments
- Australia antigen
- Society and culture
- Economic burden
- 2003 Monaca outbreak
- Special populations
- HIV co-infection
- Pregnancy
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis E
- Vaccine
- See also
- References
- External links
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Hepatitis is acute if it resolves within six months, and chronic if it lasts longer than six months. Acute hepatitis can resolve on its own, progress to chronic hepatitis, or (rarely) result in acute liver failure. Chronic hepatitis may progress to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure, and liver cancer.
Hepatitis is most commonly caused by the virus hepatovirus A, B, C, D, and E. Other viruses can also cause liver inflammation, including cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, and yellow fever virus. Other common causes of hepatitis include heavy alcohol use, certain medications, toxins, other infections, autoimmune diseases, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Hepatitis A and E are mainly spread by contaminated food and water. Hepatitis B is mainly sexually transmitted, but may also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy or childbirth and spread through infected blood. Hepatitis C is commonly spread through infected blood; for example, during needle sharing by intravenous drug users. Hepatitis D can only infect people already infected with hepatitis B.