What happens to liver cells during cirrhosis?

In cirrhosis, liver cells undergo irreversible destruction due to ongoing damage from factors such as chronic alcohol use, viral hepatitis, or other liver diseases. This destruction leads to a significant loss of liver function as the healthy parenchymal cells are damaged and die off, resulting in a decline in the organ's ability to perform its vital functions, such as detoxification, metabolism, and synthesis of important proteins.

As liver cells are destroyed, the body attempts to repair the damage by forming scar tissue through a process called fibrosis. While the liver has some regenerative capacity, in the case of cirrhosis, the ongoing injury overwhelms the liver's ability to regenerate functional cells, leading to a progressive decline in health.

This highlights the nature of cirrhosis as a chronic condition characterized by a hardening and scarring of the liver rather than complete regeneration or improved efficiency of liver cells. The condition often results in complications such as portal hypertension, liver failure, and increased risk of liver cancer due to the extensive fibrotic changes.