Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Medical Author: Dennis Lee, MD
Medical Editor: Jay W. Marks, MD
What is primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)?
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic (lasting years and
decades), progressive (worsening over time) disease of the bile ducts that
channel bile from the liver into the intestines.
The liver performs many functions; one of them is manufacturing bile. Bile is
a watery liquid made by the cells of the liver that is important for digesting
food in the intestine, particularly fat, and ridding the body of toxins. Liver
cells secrete the bile they make into small canals within the liver. The bile
flows through the canals and into larger collecting canals (ducts) within the
liver (the intrahepatic bile ducts). The bile then flows within the intrahepatic
bile ducts out of the liver and into the extrahepatic bile ducts. From the
extrahepatic bile ducts, the bile flows into the intestine where the bile mixes
with food.
In primary sclerosing cholangitis, the intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts become inflamed, scarred
and thickened (sclerotic), narrowed, and finally obstructed. Obstruction of the
ducts can lead to abdominal pain,
itching, jaundice, infection in the bile ducts
(cholangitis), and liver scarring that leads to
liver cirrhosis and liver
failure.
Next: How common is primary sclerosing cholangitis? »
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