Fibrosis, or scarring, is a highly conserved evolutionary response to limit tissue damage and
serves as a generic response to chronic liver injury, regardless of etiology. Progressive
scarring in response to a persisting liver insult eventually leads to ''cirrhosis,''with
disorganization of the normal liver architecture that is characterized by fibrotic bands,
parenchymal nodules, and vascular distortion. Alterations in the hepatic vasculature,
particularly the development of fibrous vascularized septa that link portal tracts and central …