|
|
|
|
|
|
Our Liver
|
 |
|
Of all the internal organs that we have, the liver is the largest
and it performs five hundred functions in there! And all the
functions that it performs are essential. A few of these functions
are digesting fats, filtering poisons and wastes from our blood,
preserving nutrients, regulating chemical levels in the blood and
synthesizing proteins for absorption. Knowing that it is so
important does the thought of your liver getting injured or attacked
by a disease alarm you? Relax, the liver has a unique quality, it
can regenerate itself, i.e., grow back injured and damaged parts.
However, do remember almost everything has a limit, if the damage to
the liver is very frequent, the regeneration will not be able to
keep up with the rate of damage and the result will be irreversible
or permanent damage. |
|
| |
|
A look inside
The liver is a soft, spongy organ reddish brown in color. Shielded
by the lower part of the rib cage it lies at the top of the abdomen
just below the diaphragm towards the right. Healthy adults have a
liver that weighs approximately one and half kilograms. It has a
simple structure with two main lobes- the left lobe and the right
lobe. The right lobe has two smaller lobes attached to it. Each lobe
contains lobules. The lobules are six sided structures measuring one
millimeter across. Each lobule has a tiny vein running though it.
The veins from all the lobules drain into the hepatic vein. The
outside surface of each lobule has many tiny veins, ducts and
arteries. These are the passages through which nutrients, chemicals
and wastes are transported to and from the liver.
|
The structure of the human liver |
Enlarged view of the liver lobule |
Routes taken by blood
The liver receives oxygen rich blood from the hepatic artery and
blood with depleted oxygen levels from the hepatic portal vein. The
former is the source of one fourth of the blood supply to the liver
and the latter brings the rest. The oxygen depleted blood is the
blood that has traveled through the digestive tract and has
collected nutrients on its way. These nutrients are processed and
stored in the liver. Blood from the liver is carried through the
hepatic vein that eventually reaches the heart.
Each lobule has veins from both the sources of blood. This is the
main reason for the liver's ability to regenerate itself. Even when
a part of the liver is injured or damaged, the lobules of the other
part continue with the liver's functions. Only when the injury or
disease is too big to handle do the lobules fail to function.
What all it does
Let us take a look at some of the important functions of the liver.
The liver stores energy for us in the form of glycogen, which it
takes from glucose. In fact when glucose levels in our blood are
high the liver removes the excess and stores it for later usage. The
liver also stores vitamins A, B, D, E and K. The liver produces
bile, a liquid that is very essential for the digestion of fats. The
liver also produces albumin that helps in the retention of important
nutrients in the bloodstream; globin - a component of hemoglobin;
protein that contain antibodies and chemicals that help in healing
wounds. Toxins that we ingested are absorbed by the liver, altered
chemically so that they no longer harm us and then are released into
the bile secreted by the liver.
Enemies of the liver
Hepatitis is the most common disease that the liver is attacked by.
Many variants of hepatitis exist and the most common one is referred
to as jaundice and is associated with the color yellow. The skin
and the whites of the eye turn yellow. Abuse of drugs and alcohol
can also cause irreparable damage to the liver. |
|
|
|
|
|
|