Which statement about hepatitis is true?

Which statement about hepatitis is true?

• A. It can be caused by alcohol, viruses, medications, or trauma
• B. It is never caused by alcohol
• C. It only affects the liver's bile ducts
• D. It resolves without inflammation

Answer: (A)

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, and it can arise from several different causes. It can be triggered by viruses that infect the liver, by alcohol use leading to alcoholic hepatitis, by medications or toxins that damage liver cells (drug-induced hepatitis), or by trauma that injures liver tissue and starts an inflammatory response. Because inflammation of the liver can result from these varied factors, this statement is true. The other ideas don’t fit: alcohol can indeed cause hepatitis, so saying never to be affected by alcohol is incorrect; hepatitis involves the liver tissue itself rather than just the bile ducts, so it’s not limited to the biliary system; and inflammation is the core feature, so saying it resolves without inflammation isn’t accurate.

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, and it can arise from several different causes. It can be triggered by viruses that infect the liver, by alcohol use leading to alcoholic hepatitis, by medications or toxins that damage liver cells (drug-induced hepatitis), or by trauma that injures liver tissue and starts an inflammatory response. Because inflammation of the liver can result from these varied factors, this statement is true. The other ideas don’t fit: alcohol can indeed cause hepatitis, so saying never to be affected by alcohol is incorrect; hepatitis involves the liver tissue itself rather than just the bile ducts, so it’s not limited to the biliary system; and inflammation is the core feature, so saying it resolves without inflammation isn’t accurate.