When the liver has broken down harmful substances, its by-products are excreted into the bile or blood. Bile by-products enter the intestine and leave the body in the form of feces. Blood by-products are filtered out by the kidneys, and leave the body in the form of urine.
Health Home Conditions and Diseases. Liver: Anatomy and Functions Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on Pinterest Share via Email Print this Page Liver Gallbladder and Pancreas Anatomy of the liver The liver is located in the upper right-hand portion of the abdominal cavity, beneath the diaphragm, and on top of the stomach, right kidney, and intestines.
Shaped like a cone, the liver is a dark reddish-brown organ that weighs about 3 pounds. Some people think of the liver as the body's chemical plant and inspection station. Your liver processes blood, breaking down the nutrients and chemicals your blood carries. It changes these into forms that are easier for the rest of your body to use, and also regulates the levels of most chemical in your blood.
The inspection part comes in handy because helpful nutrients are not the only things your blood carries. There are also some waste products, which your liver filters out. If you've ever seen the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, think of the scale for those golden eggs. Thanks to the "Egg-dicator", the good eggs could be separated from the bad ones.
This is similar to the way your liver works. It can tell the difference between nutrients and wastes. Nutrients go back into your bloodstream, and wastes are excreted as a product called bile. Even though bile is made out of waste products, it certainly doesn't go to waste. Bile is very useful in helping to break down fats and preparing them for further digestion and absorption. Once bile is released into your small intestine, it works its magic on the food you've eaten.
Bile by-products ultimately leave your body in your feces. Blood by-products are filtered out by the kidneys and leave your body in the form of urine. In fact, there is an entire system in your body of which your liver is a part that is responsible for creating, transporting, storing, and releasing bile.
This is called the biliary system. The biliary system is made up of the ducts arising in the liver, the gallbladder and its duct, and the common bile duct. All of this, however, is only the basic version of your liver's job description. Remember, your liver actually performs more than separate functions — and perhaps even more that scientists don't yet fully understand. Some of its other well-known liver functions include:. Learn more about Tests for Liver Transplant. It is difficult to give a precise number, as the organ is still being explored, but it is thought that the liver carries out distinct roles.
Because of the importance of the liver and its functions, evolution has ensured that it can regrow rapidly as long as it is kept healthy. This ability is seen in all vertebrates from fish to humans. The liver is the only visceral organ that can regenerate. It can regenerate completely, as long as a minimum of 25 percent of the tissue remains. One of the most impressive aspects of this feat is that the liver can regrow to its previous size and ability without any loss of function during the growth process.
In mice, if two-thirds of the liver is removed, the remaining liver tissue can regrow to its original size within 5 to 7 days. In humans, the process takes slightly longer, but regeneration can still occur in 8 to 15 days — an incredible achievement, given the size and complexity of the organ.
Over the following few weeks, the new liver tissue becomes indistinguishable from the original tissue. This regeneration is helped by a number of compounds, including growth factors and cytokines. Some of the most important compounds in the process appear to be:. An organ as complex as the liver can experience a range of problems. A healthy liver functions very efficiently. However, in a diseased or malfunctioning liver, the consequences can be dangerous or even fatal.
Fascioliasis: This is caused by the parasitic invasion of a parasitic worm known as a liver fluke, which can lie dormant in the liver for months or even years. Fascioliasis is considered a tropical disease. Cirrhosis: This sees scar tissue replace liver cells in a process known as fibrosis.
This condition can be caused by a number of factors, including toxins, alcohol, and hepatitis. Eventually, fibrosis can lead to liver failure as the functionality of the liver cells is destroyed.
Hepatitis: Hepatitis is the name given to a general infection of the liver, and viruses, toxins, or an autoimmune response can cause it. It performs tasks to keep the body healthy, says Hellan Kwon, M.
The liver is smart. It knows when to detoxify, when to usher the toxins out of the body through urine or stool, when to store the nutrients and when to release them back into the blood. It also keeps the amount of sugar in the bloodstream constant, Kwon adds.
Another liver function is when the it processes a meal, it removes sugar from the blood and stores it in the form of glycogen. Once the glycogen store is used, the liver will create glucose from other carbohydrates and a form of protein.
The liver is also a fat factory of sorts.
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