Acute liver failure (ALF), or fulminant hepatic failure, is a distinct clinical syndrome that crosses medical disciplines. A relatively rare condition, ALF remains a major focus of clinical and research attention. With the advent of transplantation, the importance of understanding management of ALF has taken on a new urgency. In this first volume dedicated to ALF, the editors bring together a distinguished team of contributors to describe the etiology, pathology and treatment of this important syndrome. Also covered are consensus techniques in liver transplantation for ALF patients, as well...

Portal hypertension is the abnormal pathophysiologic state that develops in liver cirrhosis and certain other disorders with characteristic clinical and hemodynamic features. There has been great progress in our under standing and management of portal hypertension, particularly in the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The so-called Banti's syndrome, a disorder whose existence had long been questioned, is now a well-defined portal hypertensive disease. The recently introduced Doppler ftowmetry is currently yielding new information on portal hemodynamics. Endoscopic sclerotherapy and...