Re: Liver cysts

In the most general terms a liver cyst is a bubble of fluid. They fall into two groups as follows:

Those present at birth, called congenital liver cysts. The causes of these are unknown but they are thought to be a malformed liver duct.

Those that are acquired during our lives for a number of reasons, including illness, infection, physical injury, and parasites. There are other more serious illnesses that result in liver cysts.

Some cysts are called simple liver cysts or solitary cysts. The precise frequency of liver cysts is not known because most do not cause symptoms, but liver cysts have been estimated to occur in 5% of the population and at all ages, though the prevalence increases with advancing age and women are more often affected than men. Only about 1 in 10 people with liver cysts get any symptoms. Rare examples produce abdominal discomfort or distension because they cause obstruction of a bile duct. They range in size from a few millimetres to 20 cm or more. As many as five simple cysts can be present but population above this figure is a sign that the cysts may be caused by something else.

There are also infectious cysts called echinococcal cysts or hydatid cysts caused by the tape worm and other parasites, bacterial abscesses, and so-called amoebic abscesses. Echinoccal cysts are mostly seen in South America, North Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Also cysts form in some types liver disease but these are accompanied by different symptoms and the cysts have a different appearance under radiography.

Please remember that simple cysts are quite common and don’t cause any problems but most articles are written about a few serious conditions that result in a serious outcome. Bear in mind if you search under storms on the internet you would get the impression that all storms are hurricanes, which as we know isn’t true. But who writes about everyday life events.

Here is some more advance reading,


http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2716.htm