portal hypertension

portal hypertension
portal hypertension n hypertension in the hepatic portal system caused by venous obstruction or occlusion that produces splenomegaly and ascites in its later stages

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a state in which the pressure within the hepatic portal vein is increased, causing enlargement of the spleen, enlargement of veins in the oesophagus (gullet) (which may rupture to cause severe bleeding), and accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity (ascites). The commonest cause is cirrhosis, but other diseases of the liver or thrombosis of the portal vein will also produce it. Treatment is by diuretic drugs, by surgery to join the portal vein to the inferior vena cava (bypassing the liver; see portacaval anastomosis), or by implanting a stent within the liver to join portal tract veins to a hepatic vein tributary (TIPSS - transcutaneous intrahepatic porto-systemic shunt).

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abnormally increased blood pressure in the portal venous system, a frequent complication of cirrhosis.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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