LIVER

the liver has many important jobs in the body. It

produces the digestive juice bile and
processes nutrients to be used by the body. It plays a
role in regulating blood sugar levels and stores many
important substances such as iron and some vitamins.
Other functions of the liver include making proteins
needed for blood clotting, breaking down old red blood
cells, and removing or breaking down any toxic
substances that appear in the blood.
LOCATION OF THE LIVER
The liver is situated mainly on the right side of your
upper abdomen. One part of it partially covers the front
of the stomach. It is the body’s heaviest internal organ,
weighing up to 1.6 kg (3 1/2 lb) in an adult.
LIVER LOBES AND BLOOD SUPPLY
The liver consists of a large right lobe and smaller left
lobe. It receives blood from two sources: the hepatic
artery and portal vein. Blood leaves the liver in the
hepatic veins. Outside the liver, these join a large vein
that carries the blood back to the heart. Emerging from
beneath the liver is a duct that carries the bile made by
the liver to the gall bladder.
LIVER LOBULE
There are thousands of tiny processing units, called
lobules, in the liver. Blood flows through channels called
sinusoids in a lobule, past groups of liver cells, and
towards a central vein. As the blood flows past, the liver
cells absorb some substances from it. They also release
other substances into the blood.
THE GALL BLADDER
The gall bladder is a small sac that lies beneath the liver.
The gall bladder stores bile made by the liver and
releases the bile into the small intestine when food
enters the intestine from the stomach. Bile is a greenish
fluid made of material produced from the breakdown of
old red blood cells. It plays a key role in fat digestion

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Çerçeveyi kaldır
• www.clarian.org/ADAM/doc/Seproduction of bile,
which helps carry away waste and break down fats
in the small intestine during digestion
• production of certain proteins for blood plasma
• production of cholesterol and special proteins to help
carry fats through the body
• conversion of excess glucose into glycogen for storage
(This glycogen can later be converted back to glucose for
energy.)
• regulation of blood levels of amino acids, which form the
building blocks of proteins
 • processing of hemoglobin for use of its iron content (The
liver stores iron.)
• conversion of poisonous ammonia to urea (Urea is one of
the end products of protein metabolism that is excreted in
the urine.)
• clearing the blood of drugs and other poisonous
substances
• regulating blood clotting
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