Other diffuse liver diseases: Steatosis, hemochromatosis, etc.

Abstract

The liver is the organ of metabolism and can be affected by diffuse disorders. Diffuse liver diseases usually result from failure in the hepatic metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, or proteins (Boll and Merkle 2009) either in inherited or in acquired disorders. Several infiltrative diseases may also involve the liver. In this chapter, we review the main diffuse diseases of the liver apart from cirrhosis and inflammatory/infectious pathologies. Due to their high prevalence, steatosis and liver iron overload were more detailed with a special focus on quantification techniques of liver fat and iron.