The Much-Anticipated Liver Post

Okay so maybe it is only much anticipated by me. :-) I have put a lot of work into this entry. So I hope you enjoy it.

The liver is one of the most versatile and amazing organs. It is quite a workhorse. It has many functions and performs many tasks. Some interesting things about the liver that you might not know are:

The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body. It weighs approximately 3 to 3 1/2 pounds and is the size of a football.

The liver is located in the right upper quadrant, below your lungs.

The liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself. If up to 75% of the liver is removed, it will grow back. I read that after two thirds of a liver was removed, one week later it had regenerated back to the same mass it was before. This is one of the liver's most interesting abilities: self-repair and the regeneration of damaged tissues. In clearing the body of toxins, the liver is damaged by exposure to harmful substances, demonstrating why this capability is important.

Approximately 1500 ml (1.6 quarts or approximately 6 cups) of blood enters the liver each minute, making it one of the most vascular organs in the body.

Some of the major functions of the liver include:

Breakdown and excretion of toxins. Including many drugs (some drugs are cleared by the kidneys) alcohol, poisons, bacteria, old and defective red blood cells, foreign particles, and other harmful substances.

Protein metabolism including production of amino acids (which are the building blocks of proteins). The liver synthesizes about 50 grams of protein each day, primarily in the form of albumin. Albumin is a protein in blood which helps regulate blood volume and also serves as a molecular carrier. Liver cells also chemically convert amino acids to produce ketoacids and ammonia, from which urea is formed and excreted in the urine. The liver has the ability to convert certain amino acids into others.

Carbohydrate metabolism. The liver helps metabolize carbohydrates in three ways:
1. converting sugars into glycogen to be stored in the liver
2. converting glycogen back into sugars to maintain blood glucose levels
3. synthesizing glucose from proteins or fats.

Sugar Storage: The liver stores enough glucose in the form of glycogen to provide about a day's worth of energy.

Fat Metabolism. Including production of triglycerides and cholesterol. Calories ingested in a meal and not used immediately by tissues are converted to triglycerides, by the liver, and transported to fat cells to be stored. The fatty acids produced from digestion of fat are used to produce cholesterol among other things. The liver produces 80% of the cholesterol in your body.

Produces Clotting Factors: Most of the body's 12 clotting factors are plasma proteins produced by the liver. Prothrombin and fibrinogen, substances needed to help blood coagulate, are both produced by the liver. The liver also produces the anticoagulant heparin and releases vasopressor substances after hemorrhage.

Vitamin And Mineral Storage: Fat soluble vitamins such as: Vitamin A (1-2 years supply), Vitamin D (1-4-month supply), Vitamin E, Vitamin K. Water-soluble: Vitamin B1 (riboflavin), Vitamin B12, Vitamin C. Minerals such as: Iron and Copper.

Produces Bile: Bile is a greenish liquid required for digesting fat. Some bile drains directly into the digestive system and some is stored in the gallbladder. Bile salts aid in fat digestion and absorption. Bile is continuously secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder until a meal, when bile enters the beginning of the small intestine. Bile production ranges from 250 mL to 1 L (approximately 1-4 cups) per day depending of amount of food eaten.

Excretion of Bilirubin: Bilirubin is one of the few waste products excreted in bile. Macrophages(a type of white blood cell) in the liver remove worn out red blood cells from the blood. Bilirubin then results from the breakdown of the hemoglobin in the red blood cells and is excreted into bile by hepatocytes (liver cells). Jaundice results when bilirubin cannot be removed from the blood quickly enough due to gallstones, liver disease, or the excessive breakdown of red blood cells. Bilirubin must be conjugated in the liver, changed from fat soluble to water-soluble, before it can be excreted.

Producing Immune Factors and Removing Bacteria, helping the body fight infection. The phagocytes (a type of white blood cell) in the liver produce acute-phase proteins in response to microbes (bacteria). These proteins are associated with the inflammation process, tissue repair, and immune cell activities.

Currently, there is no artificial organ or device capable of emulating all the functions of the liver.

I tried to make this easy to understand, so I hope I accomplished that. I think the liver is the most underappreciated organ in the body. It has always been my favorite organ. If there is such a thing. :-) So, I hope this makes you appreciate your liver!

That's my two cents.