Hepatitis A y B

If you would like to see more scientifically accurate 3D medical images, please subscribe to our channel:    / nucleushealthvideose   MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: If you have hepatitis A or B, your liver is inflamed because it has been infected with either the hepatitis A or hepatitis B virus. Your liver is a soft, flexible organ that performs many important functions. The functional parts of your liver are called liver lobes. Your liver lobes filter all the blood in your body. As blood passes through your liver lobes, they break down harmful substances, remove bacteria and worn-out red blood cells, and form clotting factors that control bleeding. After a meal, your liver stores nutrients to provide your body with energy when needed. Your liver also produces a substance called bile. Your gallbladder stores bile and releases it into your small intestine to help digest fats in the food you eat. If you have hepatitis A, the virus entered your body when you were exposed to the feces of an infected person. You can be exposed to the virus by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water, through contact with infected feces, such as when changing a diaper, or by having unprotected sex with an infected person. If you have hepatitis B, the virus entered your body when you were exposed to the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person. This could happen by sharing a syringe with an infected person. Other ways you can be exposed to the virus include having sex with someone infected, sharing personal hygiene items such as razors or toothbrushes used by an infected person, direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person, or when a mother passes it to her baby during childbirth. When the hepatitis A or B virus enters your liver, it invades liver cells and makes copies of itself. In response, your body sends immune cells to attack both the virus and the liver cells infected with the virus. As a result, these liver cells become inflamed and die. Over time, scar tissue forms around the infected and dead liver cells, preventing your liver from functioning properly. If you have a chronic hepatitis B infection, your liver contains a large amount of scar tissue called cirrhosis, which restricts blood flow and results in permanent shrinkage and hardening of your liver. If you have hepatitis A, your doctor will not prescribe any treatment because your immune cells will eventually find and destroy all the hepatitis A viruses in your body. If you have hepatitis B, your immune system usually eliminates all the hepatitis B viruses from your body. In some people with chronic hepatitis B, particularly children, their immune cells are unable to eliminate all the hepatitis B viruses. If you have chronic hepatitis B and your immune system cannot completely get rid of the virus, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication. If you have a severe case of chronic hepatitis B, your doctor may recommend a liver transplant. ANH13094es