The Liver is the body's largest gland, weighing about three to four pounds. It is located beneath the diaphragm in the right upper quadrant (RUQ) of the abdominal cavity. Without the liver, our bodies would be poisoned and unfit for us to do anything at all. It is a metabolically active organ responsible for many vital life functions. The primary functions of the liver are: Bile productions and excretion. Excretion of bilirubin, cholesterol, hormones, and drugs. Metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Enzyme activation. Storage of glycogen, vitamins, and minerals. Synthesis of plasma proteins, such as albumin, and clotting factors. And blood detoxification and purification.
The liver is the body's energy factory.
…show more content…
The bile moves into the gallbladder via tiny tubes. The bile is stored in the gallbladder and waits, becoming concentrated, for the signal to be released into the duodenum aiding in digestion. Without bile, the body could not digest fats, as fats do not absorb into water. The bile acts as a detergent and allows the two to mix.
The liver is an unusual organ because nearly every one of its cells is exactly alike. The working cells of the liver are known as hepatocytes. Hepatocytes have a unique capacity to reproduce in response to liver injury. Liver regeneration can occur after surgical removal of a portion of the liver (hepatectomy) or after injuries that destroy parts of the liver. And this regeneration can adjust its size to match its host. Within a week after partial hepatectomy, hepatic mass is back essentially to what it was prior to surgery. Even though the liver has the ability to react to damage and can repair itself, repetitive insults can produce liver failure or deadly diseases, infections, and disorders. A few such diseases are viral hepatitis, yellow fever, and rubella. Some of the disease caused by bacteria are amebic dysentery, leptospirosis, and streptococcal infections. These diseases can fatally damage the liver.
Liver failure is the acute failure of the liver to perform its body function. Proteins that allow the blood to clot are not produced so the patient bruises and bleeds easily. A viscous fluid will sometimes collect
The gallbladder is a hollow structure which is located right below the liver, and to the right side of the abdomen. Its main function is to store bile, which is made in the liver. The gallbladder is part of the biliary tract. The gallbladder holds the bile when it is not being used for digestion. The bile helps to break down fats during digestion. It also moves waste products from the liver into the duodenum. The bile duct is a long tube that carries the bile. It connects the liver and the gallbladder. Bile is an alkaline fluid. When it is discharged into the duodenum, it neutralises the acidity of the food coming from the stomach.
Damage or injury to the liver caused by a drug, chemical or other agent. Symptoms vary depending on the degree of exposure and hence extent of the liver damage or injury. Mild liver damage may cause few of any symptoms whereas severe damage can ultimately result in liver failure.
Fulminant hepatic failure is caused by a serious insult to the body, usually viruses or toxins that overwhelm the liver. The most common cause of fulminant hepatic failure is viral hepatitis.
The liver is a vital organ which has multiple functions to keep the body operating normally. The liver stores vitamins, sugar and iron to help give the human body energy. It controls the production and removal of cholesterol and clears the blood of waste products, drugs and other toxins. Furthermore, the liver makes clotting factors to prevent excessive bleeding after cuts or injuries. The liver produces immune factors and clears away bacteria
The liver is located in the upper right portion of the abdomen and is the largest organ. Its job in the digestive system is to produce bile, a substance that breaks up fat particles. It flows from the liver, to the gallbladder, then into the small intestine. It physically breaks up the fat particles.
Liver is the main organ for the metabolism of exogenous material. As first pass metabolism is the major elimination route of many drugs the drug exposure in the liver can be very high and hence there is a significant incidence of Drug Induced Liver Injury (DILI) associated with this.
Metabolism and genetics also participate in cirrhosis for example abnormal collection of iron (hemochromatosis) or copper (Wilson's disease) in the liver causing injury, scarring and cirrhosis. Further cause of cirrhosis is the Autoimmune chronic active hepatitis that happens when the immune system attacks the liver and causes inflammation, damage, and cirrhosis. Drugs and chemicals also cause injury of the liver.
The liver is the body's largest intestinal organ. It has a size of 5-8lb (pounds) and is
An acute liver failure happens when the normal function of the liver stops. This happens to people that never before had liver problems. And it happens in a short time of period like a couple of weeks and even days. So it can happen fast and it also causes complications that can be very bad. It causes strong pain on the brain and intense bleeding.
The pancreas is important because it breaks down the fat, carbohydrates and protein from the food we eat. The liver is important because it has many different functions within the digestive system. But liver makes up secrete bile and it cleanses it and purifies the blood coming from the small
The most significant agent determining postoperative morbidity and mortality is the capacity of the remnant liver to regenerate [3]. Clinical inquiries found that, following removal of up to 50% of functional liver, there was usually only a gentle and short-lived rise in serum bilirubin and depression of serum proteins indicating sustained briefness of hepatocellular function [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]. While
Inflammation is a kind of protective immune response of body towards the hazardous stimulants like pathogens, irritants or even dead cells. The components of this protective immune response include blood vessels, mast cells , tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), tryptase, chemokines, reactive oxygen species (ROS), histamine, bradykinin, prostaglandin and leukotrines, interleukin-1. The inflammatory process is associated with stoppage of harmful stimuli, clearance of damaged tissues and repairing of injury. Inflammation is strictly regulated by the body. The extent of this response determines its positive or negative effect on body. Extremely low level of inflammation can’t stop tissue damage where as chronic inflammation frequently becomes the cause of disease itself.
Sometimes your liver might get exposed towards varied infectious diseases that cannot be treated easily. Toxicity levels of liver need to be controlled immediately and this is only possible by means of proper detoxification. Nowadays, doctors often recommend continuing liver detoxification or cleansing on a regular
The liver’s job is to produce bile, and in return the job of the bile is to emulsify or break down the large amounts of fat, which will assist the body in digesting the remaining food easier (Guyton & Hall, 2011). The next stage is metabolism. The digestive systems job is to metabolize and break down the needed energy for the body and to send the excess wastes to go through detoxification (Guyton & Hall, 2011). As the blood circulates through the portal vein, toxins are removed, to prevent a rise in ammonia levels (Guyton & Hall, 2011). Once all wastes have been removed, the needed vitamins and nutritional needs are stored in the tissues in the body (Guyton & Hall, 2011). The next stage is the production of prothrombin and fibrinogen for coagulation and finally the immunity is for the Kupffer cells to attack and
There is no doubt that hepatitis is one of the most dangerous disease and has its bad and negative effects. At the beginning hepatitis is a medical condition that means injury to the liver with inflammation of the liver cells. Simply hepatitis is a disease that includes any type of inflammation of the liver. It may present in acute or chronic forms. Doctors call the inflammation that lasts less than six months acute hepatitis and inflammation that lasts longer than six months chronic hepatitis.