BRUCELLA HEPATITIS LEADING TO CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER

Abstract

HEPATIC involvement in brucellosis has been recognized since the original description of undulant fever as a distinct disease entity by Marston in 1859.¹ It was noted by Hughes (1897).² Cantaloube (1911)³ stressed the frequency of liver involvement, reporting hepatomegaly in 10% of his cases. Centrolobular necrosis (Hardy and others, 1931 )⁴ of the liver in human brucellosis and even extensive destruction of liver parenchyma (Wohlwill, 1932)⁵ have been described. The granulomatous nature of brucellosis has been well known since the description of such lesions in the experimentally infected guinea pig by Fabyan (1912)⁶ and later Jaffé ( 1922)⁷ and other workers. Löffler and von Albertini (1930)⁸ described such lesions in human material, and later von Albertini and Lieberherr (1937)⁹ reviewed the pathology of human brucellosis and presented in detail the changes occurring in the liver and spleen. Although but few English references have appeared, in the