A vaccination to prevent hepatitis B. The vaccine leads the body to make its own protection (antibodies) against the virus.

A birth defect in which some nerve cells are lacking in the large intestine, causing the intestine not to move stool and become blocked. It causes the abdomen to swell. See megacolon.

An opening in the diaphragm that allows the upper part of the stomach to move up into the chest. It may cause heartburn from stomach acid flowing back up through the opening.

An operation to repair a hernia.

The part of an internal organ that pushes through an opening in the organ

The field of medicine focusing on the functions and disorders of the liver.

A doctor who specializes in liver diseases.

A virus spread mostly through unclean water. This type of hepatitis is common in developing countries. It has not occurred in the United States.

A virus that occurs mostly in people who share needles with infected people. Only people who have hepatitis B can get hepatitis D.

A virus spread by blood transfusion (prior to July 1992) and possibly by sexual intercourse or sharing needles with infected people. Hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hepatitis C used to be…