What is "fatty liver"

Fatty \Fat"ty\, a. Containing fat, or having the qualities of fat; greasy; gross; as, a fatty substance.

Fatty acid (Chem.), any one of the paraffin series of monocarbonic acids, as formic acid, acetic, etc.; -- so called because the higher members, as stearic and palmitic acids, occur in the natural fats, and are themselves fatlike substances.

Fatty clays. See under Clay.

Fatty degeneration (Med.), a diseased condition, in which the oil globules, naturally present in certain organs, are so multiplied as gradually to destroy and replace the efficient parts of these organs.

Fatty heart, Fatty liver, etc. (Med.), a heart, liver, etc., which have been the subjects of fatty degeneration or infiltration.

Fatty infiltration (Med.), a condition in which there is an excessive accumulation of fat in an organ, without destruction of any essential parts of the latter.

Fatty tumor (Med.), a tumor consisting of fatty or adipose tissue; lipoma.

n. (context pathology English) The abnormal retention of triglycerides within the vacuoles of the liver

n. yellow discoloration as a result of the accumulation of certain fats (triglycerides) in the liver; can be caused by alcoholic cirrhosis or pregnancy or exposure to certain toxins

Fatty liver, also known as fatty liver disease (FLD) or hepatic steatosis, is a reversible condition wherein large vacuoles of triglyceride fat accumulate in liver cells via the process of steatosis (i.e., abnormal retention of lipids within a cell). Despite having multiple causes, fatty liver can be considered a single disease that occurs worldwide in those with excessive alcohol intake and the obese (with or without effects of insulin resistance). The condition is also associated with other diseases that influence fat metabolism. When this process of fat metabolism is disrupted, the fat can accumulate in the liver in excessive amounts, thus resulting in a fatty liver. It is difficult to distinguish alcoholic FLD from nonalcoholic FLD, and both show micro vesicular and macrovesicular fatty changes at different stages.

Accumulation of fat may also be accompanied by a progressive inflammation of the liver ( hepatitis), called steatohepatitis. By considering the contribution by alcohol, fatty liver may be termed alcoholic steatosis or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and the more severe forms as alcoholic steatohepatitis (part of alcoholic liver disease) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).