 | This article needs more reliable medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources. (September 2015) |  |
| Congestive hepatopathy | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Nutmeg liver and Chronic passive congestion of the liver |
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| Micrograph of congestive hepatopathy demonstrating perisinusoidal fibrosis and centrilobular (zone III) sinusoidal dilation. Liver biopsy. Trichrome stain. | |
| Specialty | Gastroenterology, hepatology  |
Congestive hepatopathy, is liver dysfunction due to venous congestion, usually due to congestive heart failure. The gross pathological appearance of a liver affected by chronic passive congestion is "speckled" like a grated nutmeg kernel; the dark spots represent the dilated and congested hepatic venules and small hepatic veins. The paler areas are unaffected surrounding liver tissue. When severe and longstanding, hepatic congestion can lead to fibrosis; if congestion is due to right heart failure, it is called cardiac cirrhosis.[1]
- ^ Giallourakis CC, Rosenberg PM, Friedman LS (2002). "The liver in heart failure". Clin Liver Dis. 6 (4): 947–67, viii–ix. doi:10.1016/S1089-3261(02)00056-9. PMID 12516201.