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Fetor hepaticus



Fetor hepaticus or foetor hepaticus (see spelling differences), also known as breath of the dead, is a condition seen in portal hypertension where portosystemic shunting allows mercaptans to pass directly into the lungs. It is a late sign in liver failure. Other possible causes are the presence of ammonia and ketones in the breath. The breath has a sweet, faecal smell to it.

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fetor_hepaticus". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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