Liver function tests are laboratory tests and imaging used to diagnose, as well to monitor the progress of, liver disease/dysfunction. The investigative tests can be divided into blood tests, urine tests, imaging, and liver biopsy. Chronic liver disease is characterized by jaundice, loss of liver function and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a histological diagnosis associated with fibronodular changes in the liver resulting from continuing destruction, scarring and regeneration of liver tissue. The cardiovascular changes associated with chronic liver disease include a marked decrease in systemic vascular resistance caused by increased released of nitric oxide due to subclinical endotoxicaemia. Hypersplenism associated with chronic liver disease can cause thrombocytopenia. The main features of acute liver failure are encephalopathy, loss of synthetic functions of the liver and jaundice. The loss of liver function may be sudden and complete as in paracetamol overdose or slow and insidious.