| A | B |
|---|
| Acholic | Without bile pigment in the stools. Causes stools to be pale in color. |
| Ammonia Intoxication | Urea and ammonia are two by-products of the metabolism (usage and break-down) of proteins. They are handled and eliminated via very sophisticated mechanisms within liver cells. |
| Anicteric | A technical term meaning jaundice-free. |
| Ascites | fluid within the abdomen. |
| Avascular Necrosis | (also called aseptic necrosis) A condition where the bone dies for unknown reasons. |
| Biliary Atresia | A congenital (developmental) malformation of the biliary tract where the biliary ductules outside the liver do not form to collect the bile from the liver cells to bring it out into the intestine. |
| Bilirubin | a chemical breakdown product of hemoglobin. |
| Biopsy | whenever tissue is removed from an organ or tissue in order to tell something about the organ or tissue |
| Chimerism | term meaning that one organism is made up of cells with more than one genetic background. All transplant patients are chimera's since they have cells from another person living within them. |
| Cholangitis | a bacterial infection in the bile duct. The symptoms and signs can include fever, elevation in bilirubin level, jaundice, chills, confusion, low blood pressure, elevations in liver enzymes, especially alkaline phosphatase. |
| Cholestyramine | Medication categorized as a resin which acts like a sticky substance that binds many other chemicals including metals, vitamins, and bile acids. |
| Cholestasis | non-specific term for a build up of bile in the liver. |
| Cirrhosis | process in the liver that is characterized on biopsy as having scarring and nodule formation. It is thought to occur following the death of many, many liver cells. |
| Congenital | condition present from birth. Congenital malformations include all disorders present from birth whether they are inherited or caused by environmental factors. |
| Costal Margin | Refers to the lower edge of the rib cage. |
| Cyclosporine | A drug, derived from a fungus, that inhibits the body’s immune responses. It is a standard drug for patients with organ transplants and is also used in some autoimmune diseases. |
| Decompensation | means simply that a process that was formally stable has become unstable leading to failure |
| Diuretic | A drug that causes the body to excrete sodium (salt). These drugs work by making the kidneys produce more urine, hence more salt is lost. |
| Esophageal Varices | enlarged veins in the esophagus. |
| Fatty Liver | fat in the liver. It tends to occur in people that are overweight. Another term used is steatosis |
| Fibrosis | presence of scar tissue or collagen fibers in any tissue. In the liver, fibrosis or scarring of the liver damages the architecture and thus the functionality of the organ. |
| Graft | A tissue or organ that is removed and placed somewhere else. |
| Hepatomegaly | Enlargement of the liver to such an extent that it can be felt below the ribs. |
| Hyperlipidemia | means that there are excess levels of fats in the blood. These fats can be triglycerides, or cholesterol. Hyperlipidemia is often associated with increased risk of heart disease and strokes. |
| Icteric | technical term for jaundice. |
| Immunosuppressant | Anything that inhibits or weakens the immune system. Immunosuppressants can be drugs like prednisone and cyclosporine or can be diseases like cancer and AIDS. |
| Imuran | A drug that suppresses the immune system by inhibiting cells that divide rapidly. |
| Infection | Anything that invades the body and reproduces. Infections can be bacteria, protozoa, fungi, or viruses. Bacteria and fungi are one celled creatures that cause many infections including strep throat, bladder infections, and some lung infections. |
| Intravenous | Within the blood stream. |
| Jaundice | Yellowish discoloration of all the tissues in the body, including the white of the eyes and the skin, that occurs when the blood contains abnormal amounts of the pigment bilirubin, which is normally excreted in the bile. |
| Malabsorption | problem with absorbing nutrients from the intestines. Malabsorption can happen for a variety of reasons including diseases of the bowels that impair absorption. |
| Metabolism | The way in which chemicals in the body are changed by the body. Poisons and toxins are disposed of by metabolism. Nutrients are used to build cells by metabolism. |
| OKT3 | a monoclonal antibody. Antibodies are proteins that are made by the immune system to fight infections. |
| Phenobarbital | Medication derived from a barbiturate which acts in the nerve cells of the nervous system. It is broken down and metabolized in the liver creating an increase in several enzymes that handle other medications or chemical substances. |
| Prophylactic Antibiotics | Antibiotics prescribed or used to prevent certain specific infections. |
| Primary Biliary Cirrhosis | A disease of the liver that leads to liver failure. It is more common in women than men and is thought to have an autoimmune cause, meaning that the body's own immune system damages the liver. |
| Pruritus | A technical term for itching. |
| PTLD | post transplant lymphoproliferative disease. This is a problem that occurs in transplant patients and is believed to be caused by an interaction between immunosuppression medications and a chronic viral infection called EBV (Epstein Barr Virus). |
| Rejection | When the body fights against a tissue or organ as if it were infected or damaged. This process usually results in damage to that organ or tissue. |
| Rickets | disease of weak bones caused by not getting enough vitamin D |
| Secondary Biliary Cirrhosis | Liver disease due to chronic obstruction of the bile duct. |
| Splenomegaly | an enlarged spleen. The spleen is located on the left side of the abdomen just beneath the diaphragm. If you place your left palm flat on your abdomen with the middle finger touching the umbilicus and pointing to your right hip, the heel of your palm is approximately in the spot where your spleen is. |
| Stasis | Refers to things that are not moving or changing. |
| Tacrolimus | drug, derived from a fungus, that inhibits the body’s immune responses. It is a standard drug for patients with organ transplants. |
| T cells | cells that fight infection. T cells are a kind of lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are white blood cells that are involved in acquired immunity. Acquired immunity is the ability to fight off something that we were exposed to in the past. |
| Wean | To reduce slowly. |
| Portal Hypertension | high pressure in the portal system. The portal system is made up of the veins that collect blood from the stomach, bowels, pancreas, and spleen. These veins come together and make up the portal vein which leads to the liver. |
