Cause
of Liver Disease
In many cases the liver is ill
secondarily to a problem elsewhere in the body.
Trauma
Animals that receive a severe and blunt
blow to the front of the abdomen can suffer from liver disease. The
most common cause of this type of blow is being hit by a car. A liver
lobe can be fractured and bleed into the abdomen, even leading to
death. A more common occurrence is a bruise (contusion) that heals
itself. Heatstroke, diaphragmatic hernia
and liver lobe torsion can also cause liver problems.
Inflammation
An inflamed liver is called hepatitis.
Trauma can cause this, along with drugs, viruses, bacteria, bile, and
toxins.
Pancreatitis
The severe inflammatory process that
occurs with digestive enzymes can spill over into the liver and cause
severe disease.
Anemia
Hemolytic anemia can decrease the oxygen
available to liver cells and lead to their death.
Infection
Bacteria, viruses, and fungi can all
cause liver disease. Since bacterial infection is common in many liver
problems it is routine to use antibiotics when treating liver problems.
Specific diseases include Infectious canine Hepatitis, canine
Herpesvirus, Feline Infectious Peritonitis
(FIP), Leptospirosis, abscesses, histoplasmosis, coccidiomycosis,
and Toxoplasmosis.
Heartworms
These worms can block blood flow into
the liver and cause liver failure. Any disease that can cause failure
of the right side of the heart can also cause liver problems.
Toxins
There are literally thousands of
chemicals that could be toxic to the liver. A few examples of these
chemicals that are commonly used to treat ill animals include:
- Rimadyl (arthritis treatment) in Labradors
- Thiacetarsamide (heartworm treatment)
- Ketaconazole (fungal treatment)
- Tylenol (acetaminophen)
- Glucocorticoids (cortisone)
- Anthelmintics (worming medication)
- Parasiticides
- Phenobarbital (epilepsy medication)
Cancer
Cancer can arise directly within the
liver (primary) or spread from elsewhere (metastatic or secondary)
through the circulatory or lymphatic systems. In the anatomy section we
mentioned the dual blood supply to the liver; the portal vein and the
hepatic artery. This extra blood supply increases the chance that a
tumor in a different organ that has spread into the bloodstream will
end up in the liver. As mentioned in the physiology section, liver
cancer is usually detected only after the disease is well established,
since functional reserve capacity allowed the liver to function
normally for a prolonged period of time.
Some of these liver cancers include:
Primary
-
Lymphosarcoma
-
Hemangiosarcoma
Metastatic
-
Adenocarcinoma
-
Leiomyosarcoma
-
Mammary tumors
-
Oral carcinoma
-
Lymphosarcoma
-
Hemangiosarcoma
Metabolic diseases that cause secondary
liver problems:
Return to top of page |
