US Medical Term · conditions
Cirrhosis
Cirrosis hepática
Also: Cirrosis del hígado (regional variant)
What it means
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. Scar tissue forms because of injury or long-term disease, and it cannot do what healthy liver tissue does: make protein, help fight infections, clean the blood, help digest food and store energy. The MedlinePlus encyclopedia describes cirrhosis as scarring that results in poor liver function and as the last stage of chronic liver disease. According to MedlinePlus, the most common causes in the United States are chronic alcoholism and hepatitis. A doctor diagnoses cirrhosis with blood tests, imaging tests, or a biopsy. MedlinePlus lists liver cirrhosis among the alternative names and gives hepatic fibrosis as another name. In Spanish the term is cirrosis hepática; MedlinePlus en español titles its pages simply Cirrosis.
Cirrhosis in Spanish
- Spanish term
- Cirrosis hepática
- Gender and article
- feminine: la cirrosis hepática
- Pronunciation
- see-RROH-sees eh-PAH-tee-kah
| Other Spanish terms | Where it is used | Note |
|---|---|---|
| cirrosis | General | Short form: it is the title of both the MedlinePlus en español health topic and the encyclopedia article. |
| cirrosis del hígado | General | Wording of an image title in the MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia article. |
Cirrosis hepática is listed first among the alternative names in the MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia article, which is itself titled simply Cirrosis; the same article labels one of its images cirrosis del hígado. The word is feminine: la cirrosis. Where the English pages say liver, MedlinePlus en español writes either el hígado or the adjective hepático / hepática, as in enfermedad hepática crónica (chronic liver disease) and cáncer hepático (liver cancer).
Words MedlinePlus en español uses around the term include cicatrización (scarring), tejido cicatricial (scar tissue), ictericia (jaundice, a yellow color in the skin or eyes), ascitis (fluid buildup in the abdomen), várices (enlarged veins in the esophagus) and trasplante de hígado (liver transplant). Alcohol overuse is consumo excesivo de alcohol, a liver biopsy is biopsia del hígado, and liver function tests are pruebas de la función hepática.
Phrases for an appointment
What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:
| Who | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Patient | I was told I have cirrhosis. What does that mean? | Me dijeron que tengo cirrosis. ¿Qué significa eso? |
| Clinician | It means there is scarring in your liver. | Significa que hay cicatrización en el hígado. |
| Clinician | Have you ever had hepatitis B or hepatitis C? | ¿Ha tenido alguna vez hepatitis B o hepatitis C? |
| Clinician | How much alcohol do you drink in a week? | ¿Cuánto alcohol bebe en una semana? |
| Patient | My belly and my legs are swollen. | Tengo el abdomen y las piernas hinchados. |
| Patient | My skin and my eyes look yellow. | Tengo la piel y los ojos amarillos. |
| Clinician | I am going to order blood tests and an ultrasound of your abdomen. | Voy a pedirle análisis de sangre y un ultrasonido del abdomen. |
| Clinician | If you vomit blood or feel confused, call 911 or go to the emergency room right away. | Si vomita sangre o siente confusión, llame al 911 o vaya a la sala de emergencias de inmediato. |
In 9 languages
| Language | Term |
|---|---|
| English | Cirrhosis |
| Spanish (Español) | Cirrosis hepática |
| Chinese (中文) | 肝硬化 |
| Korean (한국어) | 간경변증 |
| Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) | Xơ gan |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | Cirrhosis |
| Portuguese (Português) | Cirrose hepática |
| Thai (ภาษาไทย) | โรคตับแข็ง |
| Japanese (日本語) | 肝硬変 |
Where you'll see it
Related ICD-10-CM category
ICD-10-CM code: K74 → Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liverRelated terms
Your right to an interpreter in the United States
If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.
You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»
More terms: Digestive system
All terms in this area: Digestive system — Sistema digestivo
Sources
- Cirrhosis — MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
- Cirrosis — MedlinePlus enciclopedia médica, Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina
- Cirrhosis — MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, National Library of Medicine
- Cirrosis — MedlinePlus en español, Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina
- Limited English Proficiency (LEP): Your Right to Language Assistance Services — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.
Last reviewed: October 8, 2026