Laboratory diagnostics

Liver fibrosis 

Patients can be at risk of death even without exhibiting symptoms

5min
Andrea Lutz
Published on December 18, 2020

The liver is the largest gland in the human body and, weighing roughly two kilograms, it is the second largest organ after the skin. Its varied functions include supplying the brain with glucose, filtering toxins out of the blood, producing proteins, and much more. This means that a well-functioning liver is of vital importance. Yet diseases of the liver are among the top five causes of death among the middle-aged in many industrialized countries today. Liver cirrhosis and liver tumors are even among the ten most frequent causes of death worldwide.[1]

Causes of liver diseases
Lobular structure of the liver
1 in 5 advanced fibrosis patients evolves to cirrhosis in as little as two and a half years.
How diagnosis works: biopsy
How diagnosis works: elastography
How diagnosis works: biomarker test

By Andrea Lutz
Andrea Lutz is a journalist and business trainer specialized on medical topics, technology, and healthcare IT. She lives in Nuremberg, Germany.