fatty liver
Noun: A medical condition characterized by the abnormal accumulation of fat, specifically triglycerides, within liver cells. This buildup causes the liver tissue to become discolored, often appearing yellowish. It is a condition that can result from various causes, including excessive alcohol consumption (alcoholic fatty liver disease), metabolic factors (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), pregnancy, or exposure to certain toxic substances.
The term is used primarily in medical and health contexts to describe a specific pathological state of the liver. - It functions as a countable noun (e.g., a fatty liver, fatty livers). - It is often modified by adjectives specifying the cause or type (e.g., alcoholic fatty liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver).
- The patient's ultrasound revealed a fatty liver.
- Chronic alcohol abuse is a common cause of fatty liver.
- Fatty liver associated with pregnancy requires careful medical management.
- His doctor warned him that obesity could lead to fatty liver.
- Fatty liver disease: This is a common compound term used to describe the broader condition, which can range from simple steatosis (fat accumulation) to more severe inflammation (steatohepatitis) and scarring.
- He was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- The condition can be described in stages:
- Simple fatty liver (steatosis)
- Fatty liver with inflammation (steatohepatitis)
- Steatosis: The medical term for the abnormal retention of fat within a cell or organ, specifically the liver. It is synonymous with the basic state of "fatty liver."
- Hepatic steatosis: A more formal, clinical term for fatty liver ( refers to the liver).
- NAFLD (Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease): A specific type not related to alcohol.
- AFLD (Alcoholic fatty liver disease): A specific type caused by alcohol consumption.
- Hepatic steatosis (formal/medical)
- Liver steatosis (medical)
- Fatty infiltration of the liver (descriptive)
- "Fatty liver" itself is a noun phrase. It is not typically used to form phrasal verbs or idioms in common language.
- The reference to "yellow discoloration" in some definitions is a pathological description of the liver tissue itself, not necessarily something visible externally. The primary defining feature is the excess fat accumulation.
- yellow discoloration as a result of the accumulation of certain fats (triglycerides) in the liver; can be caused by alcoholic cirrhosis or pregnancy or exposure to certain toxins