What exactly does cirrhosis do to the body?

See below: The liver is a major detoxifyer as well as a food storage organ. When cirrhosis occurs several things happen. You may have disrupted hormones so you have abnormal hair deposits and may deveop clubbed fingers. But you also have increased pressure in the hepatic arteries which transfer back to the esophagus and get esophageal varices which hemorrhge and are a major casue of death in cirrhosis.

Many things: The liver has many functions, both anatomically and physiologically. When these are interrupted the results can be devastating. Increased pressures, particularly in the portal venous system can create ascites, esophageal and other varices, hormonal changes because of lack of detoxification of estrogen or production of multiple products like albumin, etc. Can create feminization, etc.