Cirrhosis and its end-stage complications have been well-known by medical practitioners for many centuries and were frequently described in historical writings and medical literature as far back as Hippocrates in 400 bce. 1 The ancient Greeks believed the liver to be the center of the circulation and the site of blood production, perhaps because of its propensity to bleed when injured in battle or accidents. Indeed, the liver was referred to by Galen 2 as the "blood sac" because of its abundant blood flow, which comes from its almost unique dual blood supply, namely, the hepatic artery and the portal vein (almost because there is also a portal venous system between the pituitary and the hypothalamus 3) (Fig. 1). In 200 ce, Galen wrote of the liver as the fons venarum, the source of the major veins of the body and the sanguifactionis officina or the "factory of the blood," the site of sanguification. 2 In modern times, even after the gross anatomy of the liver was clearly elucidated, poor understanding of liver disease resulted in a diagnosis of cirrhosis Abbreviations: ADAMTS13, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13; AHG, antihemophilic globulin; aPTT, activated partial thromboplastin time; AT, antithrombin; C, protein C; FFP, fresh frozen plasma; HMWK,