Clinical Aspects of Liver and Gastrointestinal Tract Diseases

Liver disease is a condition that can affect and damage liver function. There are various diseases that can affect the liver, which include hepatitis, fascioliasis, alcoholic liver disease, cirrhosis, fatty liver disease and liver cancer. Their symptoms depend on the cause and may include jaundice, altered consciousness and confusion, coagulopathy, and thrombocytopenia. Liver diseases also have bleeding symptoms that take place in gastrointestinal tract, which is a passageway from the mouth to the anus. There are various diseases affecting the gastrointestinal system, which include cancer, infections and inflammation. The diagnosis of liver diseases can be done by liver function tests while diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract diseases can be done by various imaging methods. Treatment of liver diseases includes medications such as ursodeoxycholic acid and steroid-based drugs, which strive to slow down the progression of the disease. Gastrointestinal tract diseases can be treated with medications and surgery in severe cases. This book contains some recent studies on liver and gastrointestinal tract diseases. Its aim is to present researches that have advanced the frontiers in the clinical management of these diseases.