Acute – a short sharp illness that may be severe but from which most people will recover in a few weeks without lasting effects.
Ascites – accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity which surrounds the bowel, leading to
enlarged, swollen and tender abdomen.
Autoimmune disease – a type of disease causing the body’s immune system to attack another part of the body.
Bile – a yellow/green fluid made by the liver to help digest foods containing fat and cholesterol.
Bile ducts – the tubes linking your liver to your gut (also known as your intestine or bowel). The bile ducts carry bile from your liver to your gut.
Biliary – anything to do with the bile duct or bile.
Bowel – another name for the intestine or gut that runs from the stomach to the anus.
Chronic – an illness that lasts a long time (more than six months), possibly for the rest of a person's life.
Cirrhosis – where inflammation and fibrosis have spread to disrupt the shape and function of the liver. Even with no signs or symptoms of liver disease, the working capacity of liver cells has been badly impaired and they are unable to repair the liver. This is permanent cell damage and can lead to liver failure or liver cancer.
Immunosuppressant – a drug that dampens down the body's defences (immune system). Usually used after an organ transplant to stop the body rejecting the donor organ.
Inflammation – the first response of the immune system to infection, commonly characterised by heat, swelling, pain and tenderness.
Jaundice – a condition in which the whites of the eyes go yellow and in more severe cases the skin also turns yellow. This is caused by a rise of bilirubin plasma (containing yellow pigment) which is normally disposed of by the liver..
Lobe – a major part of an organ.
Varices – dilated (expanded) and protruding blood vessels that run along the wall under the lining of the upper part of the stomach. Varices can sometimes bleed.