Viral Hepatitis
| Overview |
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- Viral Hepatitis is predominantly caused by a small group of hepatitis viruses with a strong tropism for the liver. It should be pointed out that mild inflammation of the liver can also be seen as a component systemic infections with EBV and CMV; however, because hepatic pathology is not a major component of these infections, they will not be discussed further in this section.
| Etiologies |
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- Overview
- Hepatitis Viruses do not have any common features other than their tropism for the liver and their capacity to produce significant hepatic pathology. Please refer to the following pages for a discussion of their virology although note that these will take you to the microbiology section within the table of contents.
- Hepatitis Viruses
| Morphology and Clinical Consequences |
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- Overview
- Although structurally quite different, the Hepatitis Viruses produce similar morphological and clinical pictures. Three basic clinico-pathological pictures can develop depending on the timescale of infection which is largely determined by the exuberance of the immune response to the virus.
- Clinico-pathological Patterns
- Acute Viral Hepatitis: Strong Immune Response
- Chronic Viral Hepatitis: Absent or Low Immune Response
- Fulminant Hepatitis: Catastrophically exuberant immune response
| Subtopics |
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