Analogies in medicine: anchovy paste in the liver.

Infection of the liver by Entamoeba histolytica is the most common extra-intestinal complication of amebiasis. The parasites (trophozoites) are carried to the liver by the portal vein. However, in more than half the patients there may be no evidence of amebic infection in the stool and no colonic lesions are present. Amebiasis occurs at all ages. The distribution is worldwide, but the disease is much more common in the tropics and subtropics, with a high incidence in India, tropical regions of Africa, Mexico and other countries of Central America and Amazonian Region.