Cirrhosis is type of liver disease that includes inflammation and damage to cells. Cirrhosis is usually caused by alcoholism or hepatitis.
There are many dangers to drinking too much alcohol, but one of the most serious is cirrhosis of the liver: a chronic disease of this very important organ. When you have cirrhosis, tissues become thickened, inflamed, or simply deteriorate. This term often appears in the fuller and somewhat redundant form cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis has no relatives in modern English and is derived from a Greek color word: kirrhos, orangish-brown, which is the typical color of the cirrhotic liver.