Increased pressure in the sublobular branches of the hepatic veins causes an engorgement of venous blood, and is most frequently due to chronic cardiac lesions, especially those affecting the right heart (e.g., right-sided heart failure), the blood being dammed back in the inferior vena cava and hepatic veins. Central regions of the hepatic lobules are red–brown and stand out against the non-congested, tan-coloured liver. Centrilobular necrosis occurs.
