The liver is such an important organ that we can survive only one or two days if it shuts down - if the liver fails, your body will fail, too. Fortunately, the liver can function even when up to 75% of it is diseased or removed. This is because it has the amazing ability to create new liver tissue (i.e. it can regenerate itself) from healthy liver cells that still exist.
If your body were an automobile, your liver would be considered the engine.
What does my liver look like?
The liver is the largest organ inside the body. In an adult, it is about the size of a football and weighs close to three pounds. It is located behind the ribs in the upper right-hand portion of the abdomen. Shaped like a triangle, the liver is dark reddish-brown and consists of two main lobes. There are over 300 billion specialized cells in the liver that are connected by a well organized system of bile ducts and blood vessels called the biliary system
How important is my liver?
The liver is such an important organ that we can survive only one or two days if it shuts down—if the liver fails, your body will fail, too. Fortunately, the liver can function even when up to 75% of it is diseased or removed. This is because it has the amazing ability to create new liver tissue (i.e. it can regenerate itself) from healthy liver cells that still exist.
What does my liver do?
If your body was an automobile, your liver would be considered the engine. It does hundreds of vital things to make sure everything runs smoothly. Some of the most important functions of the liver include:
• Stores vitamins, sugar and iron to help give your body energy.
• Controls the production and removal of cholesterol.
• Clears your blood of waste products, drugs, and other poisonous substances.
• Makes clotting factors to stop excessive bleeding after cuts or injuries.
• Produces immune factors and removes bacteria from the bloodstream to combat infection.
• Releases a substance called “bile” to help digest food and absorb important nutrients.
When the liver has broken down harmful substances, they are excreted into the bile or blood. Bile by-products enter the intestine and ultimately leave the body in the feces. Blood by-products are filtered out by the kidneys and leave the body in the form of urine.
What is “hepatitis” and how does it affect my liver?
The medical term “hepatitis” literally means “inflammation of the liver.” Chronic inflammation of the liver may result in liver damage or failure if left untreated. “Hepatitis” can be caused by many different things - drinking too much alcohol, traumatic injury, autoimmune disorders, an adverse drug reaction, or a virus such as the hepatitis B virus.
‘The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their names’ (Chinese proverb)
Source: RHPU/BAR
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