T.aennec named the firm, diffusely fibrotic liver with its orange-colored projecting nodules "cirrhosis," after the Greek word kirrhos, meaning orange. Other synonyms are portal cirrhosis, alcoholic (ethanolic) cirrhosis, fatty cirrhosis, atrophic cirrhosis, and "gin drinker's liver." Laennec's cirrhosis is a pathologic entity in which a varying degree of generalized hyaline fibrosis of the liver is present. Potentially, the liver dysfunction progresses to ultimate failure and the death of the patient. Although the exact cause of the condition remains unknown, damage to the liver cells appears to initiate, in certain patients, a proliferative fibroblastic reaction which leads to Laennec's cirrhosis. This damage may result from any of a number of factors: malnutrition secondary to the excessive use of alcohol; a lowprotein diet as in kwashiorkor (occurring in Africa); certain chemicals