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2. Ascites
In cirrhosis with portal hypertension, there’s excessive blood flow coming into the liver due to increased cardiac output. This excess blood flow is met by a resistance to the blood flow created by contractile stellate cells in the hepatic tissue and other factors. The resulting pressure inside of the blood vessels expels the liquid to the outside of the capillaries and into the interstitial tissue.
The liquid goes through the lymphatic blood vessels, but they cannot cope with the excess and drain it into the abdominal cavity instead of the general circulation. Ascites is an accumulation of this liquid into the abdominal cavity.
