Rare diseases · Sign or symptom

Cirrhosis

Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver

HP:0001394

What it means

A chronic disorder of the liver in which liver tissue becomes scarred and is partially replaced by regenerative nodules and fibrotic tissue resulting in loss of liver function.

Cirrhosis is caused by chronic liver disease as a result of viral infections (hepatitis), alcohol abuse, certain medications, certain metabolic disorders of iron and copper, and many others. Cirrhosis may lead to a number of abnormalities including hepatomegaly, jaundice, abnormal liver function tests, ascites, dilatation of veins in the abdominal wall, anemia, and clotting deficiencies.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this62

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions, and Orphanet separately records 1 disease where this sign is specifically absent. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Hepatic cirrhosis · Liver cirrhosis

Cirrhosis

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This page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.