ANTECEDENT JAUNDICE IN CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER

THE ETIOLOGY of cirrhosis of the liver has not been fully elucidated. In a certain small percentage of cases the disease is dependent on exposure to hepatotoxic agents, such as arsenic, cinchophen, carbon tetrachloride and other chemicals. In a larger percentage, varying with the type of population studied, the condition is associated with chronic alcoholism. In these cases it may be that diets deficient in protein initiate the development of fatty liver and eventual transition to cirrhosis,¹ in accord with results of experimentation on animals.² This subject has been reviewed recently by György^2c and need not be considered further at present. In addition to the cases of cirrhosis of the liver associated with chronic alcoholism, there remains, however, a fairly large group of cases not readily classified. The question has been raised in the past as to whether infectious hepatitis (infectious jaundice; acute catarrhal jaundice) may be