What it means
Normally the edge of the liver can barely be felt, if at all, under the right lower ribs. When it is enlarged, the edge may be felt lower down. It can come from fatty liver, hepatitis, heavy alcohol use, right-sided heart failure, which backs blood up into the liver, and cancer.
For the nurse
Note any tenderness or fullness in the right upper belly, and look for other liver signs, such as yellow skin or eyes, swelling of the belly and easy bruising.
Related terms
heart failure
A long-term condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
jaundice
Yellow color of the skin, the whites of the eyes and other tissues from too much bilirubin in the blood.
hepatomegaly
An enlarged liver.