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Summary: The Concept Of Metabolism

Decent Essays

The Concept of Metabolism:
Nursing Interventions and Diagnoses Related to Cirrhosis
Hannah E. Null
New Mexico State University

Introduction
The concept of metabolism which is regulated by the major body system known as the endocrine system and includes the biochemical processes, including the body’s need to produce energy, repair cells, and maintain life (Pearson, 2015). This includes a series of glands including the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, adrenal, and the three organs being the pancreas, female ovary, and the male testis. The major organ being discussed for the purpose of this paper is the liver, a complex organ with multiple metabolic and regulatory functions (Pearson, 2015). …show more content…

Over time the liver is unable to metabolize the alcohol and leads the liver to form fibrous tissue, develop nodules, and the liver shrinks and has a nodular uneven appearance (Pearson, 2015). Biliary cirrhosis is another type of liver disease that is characterized by the inability of bile to be excreted, causing build up within the liver which eventually destroys the cells within the liver. The third type of cirrhosis is known as posthepatic cirrhosis and is the result of a patient having hepatitis B or C resulting from an unknown cause. This type of cirrhosis causes the liver to shrink and become nodular and fibrous resulting in destruction of the liver cells. Risk factors for all three types of cirrhosis include high risk behaviors such as consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, drug use (primarily IV), unsafe sexual behaviors leading to the development of hepatitis B or C. Clinical manifestations of cirrhosis include portal hypertension, which is caused by the portal vein becoming inflamed and casing blood to be rerouted to adjoining lower pressure vessels, splenomegaly, ascites which is the enlargement of the stomach due to a collection of fluid in the abdominal cavity, esophageal varices, which are enlarged, thin walled veins that form in the esophagus, portal, systemic encephalopathy, which is due to neurotoxins being rerouted into the blood, hepatorenal syndrome caused by imbalanced blood flow, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, which is a contamination of the peritoneal cavity (Pearson,

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