Cirrhosis is a serious disease of the liver. Over a long time, healthy liver tissue is replaced by hard scar tissue, so the liver cannot do its work well — cleaning the blood, making things the body needs, storing energy. School books often say it comes from drinking too much alcohol, and that is one important cause. Though actually it is not the only road there. A long fight with hepatitis B or C, or a liver that has stored too much fat for years, can also lead to cirrhosis, even in people who drink little or not at all. Early on, a person may feel almost fine; later the skin and eyes can look yellow, the belly can fill with fluid, and bruises come easily. Doctors cannot simply take the scars away. They try to stop the damage getting worse, and to treat whatever is driving it. It is a medical word, used by doctors and in health news, not a casual word for “drinks too much.”