What is the function of liver

"What is the function of liver"
The largest gland in the body, the liver is divided into a large right lobe and a small left
lobe by the falciform ligament, another peritoneal fold. Two smaller lobes — the
quadrate and caudate lobes — are found on the lower (inferior) and back (posterior)
sides of the right lobe. The quadrate lobe surrounds and cushions the gallbladder, a
pear-shaped structure that stores and concentrates bile, which it empties periodically
through the cystic duct to the common bile duct and on into the duodenum during
digestion. Bile aids in the digestion and absorption of fats; it consists of bile pigments,
bile salts, and cholesterol.

The liver secretes diluted bile through the hepatic ducts into the cystic duct and on
into the gallbladder. Liver tissue is made up of rows of cuboidal cells separated by
microscopic blood spaces called sinusoids. Blood from the interlobular veins and arteries
circulates through the sinusoids with food and oxygen for the liver cells, picking up
materials along the way. The blood then enters the intralobular veins, which carry it to
the sublobular veins, which empty into the hepatic vein, which leads to the inferior
vena cava. Bile secreted from the liver cells is carried by biliary canaliculi (bile capillaries)
to the bile ducts and then to the hepatic ducts.

Considering the number of vital roles the liver plays, the complexity of that process
isn’t too surprising. Among the liver’s various functions are

1 Production of blood plasma proteins including albumin, antibodies to fend off
disease, a blood anticoagulant called heparin that prevents clotting, and bile pigments
from red blood cells, the yellow pigment bilirubin, and the green bile pigment
biliverdin

2 Storage of vitamins and minerals as well as glucose in the form of glycogen

3 Conversion and utilization through enzyme activity of fats, carbohydrates, and
proteins

4 Filtering and removal of nonfunctioning red blood cells, toxins (isolated by
Kupffer cells in the liver) and waste products from amino acid breakdown, such
as urea and ammonia

 Unfortunately, a number of serious diseases can damage the liver. The hepatitis virus
inflames the gland, and cirrhosis caused by repeated toxic injury (often through alcohol
or other substance abuse) destroys Kupffer cells and replaces them with scar
tissue. Also, painful gallstones can develop when cholesterol clumps together to form
a center around which the gallstone can form.


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What is the function of liver