Hepatomegaly

Hepatomegaly

SignSymptom infobox
Name = Hepatomegaly
ICD10 = ICD10|R|16|.0|r|16
ICD9 = ICD9|789.1

Hepatomegaly is the condition of having an enlarged liver. It is a nonspecific medical sign having many causes, which can broadly be broken down into infection, direct toxicity, hepatic tumours, or metabolic disorder. Often, hepatomegaly will present as an abdominal mass. Depending on the cause, it may sometimes present along with jaundice.

Diagnosis

After a thorough medical history and physical examination, blood tests should be drawn. An important series of blood tests are the liver function tests, which give a good impression of the patient's broad metabolic picture.

An ultrasound of the liver can reliably detect a dilated biliary duct system, which helps distinguish parenchymal liver disease from extrahepatic bile duct obstruction. Ultrasound can also detect the characteristic texture of a cirrhotic liver, and can guide fine needle aspiration of cysts, abscesses and tumours.

Computed tomography (CT) can help obtain more accurate anatomical information, and is unaffected by the obesity or the presence of bowel gases.

Common Causes

Infective

*Glandular fever (Infectious mononucleosis) This is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
*Hepatitis (Although not all hepatitis viruses cause hepatomegaly)
*Liver abscess(pyogenic abscess and amoebic abscess)
*Malaria
*Amoeba infections
*Hydatid cyst
*Leptospirosis
*Actinomycosis

Neoplastic

*Hemangiomas
*Hepatocellular carcinoma
*Myeloma
*Leukaemia
*Lymphoma

Cirrhotic

*Portal
*Biliary
*Cardiac
*Haemochromatosis

Metabolic

*Fatty infiltration
*Amyloidosis
*Gaucher's disease
*Niemann Pick Type C disease

Drugs and Toxins

*alcoholism
*poisoning
*drugs

Congenital

*Hemolytic anemia
*Riedel's lobe
*Polycystic disease
*Cori's disease

Others

*Hunter syndrome
*Zellweger's syndrome
*Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I deficiency
*Right ventricular failure

ee also

* Hepatosplenomegaly

External links

* [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/ National Institute of Health's Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia] : [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003275.htm Hepatomegaly]
* [http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/home.jsp Merck Manual] : [http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section4/chapter38/38c.jsp Hepatomegaly]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • hepatomegaly — noun (plural lies) Date: circa 1901 enlargement of the liver …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • hepatomegaly — /hep euh toh meg euh lee, hi pat euh /, n. Pathol. an abnormal enlargement of the liver, usually associated with liver disease or heart failure. [1890 95; HEPATO + MEGALY] * * * …   Universalium

  • hepatomegaly — noun An abnormal enlargement of the liver …   Wiktionary

  • Hepatomegaly — An enlarged liver. “Hepato “ comes from the Greek “hepatikos” (of the liver) + “megaly” from the Greek “megas” (big or great) = bigness of the liver. * * * he·pa·to·meg·a·ly .hep ət ō meg ə lē, hi .pat ə meg n, pl lies enlargement of the liver… …   Medical dictionary

  • hepatomegaly — [ˌhɛpətəʊ mɛgəli, hɛˌpatəʊ ] noun Medicine abnormal enlargement of the liver …   English new terms dictionary

  • hepatomegaly — hep·a·to·meg·a·ly …   English syllables

  • hepatomegaly — n. enlargement of the liver to such an extent that it can be felt below the rib margin. This may be due to congestion (as in heart failure), inflammation, infiltration (e.g. by fat), or tumour …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • hepatomegaly — hep•a•to•meg•a•ly [[t]ˌhɛp ə toʊˈmɛg ə li, hɪˌpæt ə [/t]] n. pat an abnormal enlargement of the liver, usu. associated with liver or heart disease …   From formal English to slang

  • hepatomegaly —    An enlarged liver. Hepatosplenomegaly is both an enlarged liver and spleen. Hepatosplenopalestrinamegaly is an enlarged liver, spleen and 17th century Italian composer …   Herbal-medical glossary

  • hepatomegaly — Enlarged liver …   English dictionary of cancer terms

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