What condition is characterized by irreversible hepatic injury and fibrosis?

Cirrhosis is a condition marked by irreversible hepatic injury and fibrosis. In cirrhosis, the normal liver tissue is progressively replaced with scar tissue, which disrupts the liver's structural architecture and its ability to function properly. This fibrosis often results from chronic liver conditions such as chronic hepatitis, alcohol abuse, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. As the liver becomes increasingly fibrotic, its ability to detoxify the blood, synthesize proteins, and produce essential factors for digestion is diminished, leading to a range of complications.

In contrast, hepatitis refers to inflammation of the liver, which can be acute or chronic but does not inherently involve the extensive fibrosis seen in cirrhosis. Liver failure is a clinical syndrome resulting from the liver's inability to perform its functions adequately, which may occur in the setting of cirrhosis but is not a standalone condition characterized solely by fibrosis. Hepatic steatosis, commonly known as fatty liver, denotes the accumulation of fat within liver cells. This condition can precede the development of cirrhosis, but it does not represent the scarring or irreversible changes that characterize cirrhosis itself. Thus, cirrhosis uniquely encompasses the irreversible hepatic injury and fibrosis described