Scarred for Life

Norman Barker, The Johns Hopkins University, and Christine Iacobuzio-Donahue, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

The liver, one of the largest organs, occupies the upper-right of the abdomen, where it clears blood of impurities, produces many important clotting factors, and metabolizes drugs. It is one of the few organs that can renew itself after part of it is surgically removed, indicating its enormous capacity for regeneration. The most common causes of chronic injury to the liver are excessive alcohol intake, hepatitis B or C infection, or fatty liver disease.

Image: This image depicts cirrhosis of the liver and occurs when the liver tissue (red) is replaced by fibrous tissue (blue). In an attempt to regenerate itself, liver cells proliferate yet are constrained by fibrous tissue, resulting in the formation of nodules. In end-stage cirrhosis, the liver can shrink to half of its normal size and is comprised of dense fibrosis within which nodules of liver tissue remain. Masson's Trichrome Stain, Zeiss AX10 Microscope, X10.