Liver

General characteristic of a liver

The liver – a big unpaired vital internal human organ which is in an abdominal cavity under a diaphragm and carries out a huge number of various physiological functions. A liver, first of all, large digestive gland which produces bile, a barrier to poisonous products of protein metabolism, the active participant of all types of exchange.

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Thus, the liver is a participant of digestion, blood circulation, and a metabolism.

Liver structure

The liver is divided into two shares: left and right. The left hepatic lobe in turn is divided into two secondary shares: square and having a tail.

According to the scheme of division of the liver into segments offered by Claude Kuino it is divided into eight segments. The segment is a pyramidal site of set of the basic functioning elements of a liver (parenchyma) which has rather independent blood supply, nerve terminations, and bile outflow.

Liver parenchyma lobular that means that a segment – structurally functional unit of a liver. Structural components of a segment of a liver are: hepatic plates, intra lobular haemo capillaries, bilious capillaries, holangiola, perisinusoidalny space of Disse and central vein.

Functions of a liver

As it was told earlier, the liver has a lot of functions, such as:

1. Neutralization of various alien substances, by transformation in harmless, less harmful or in such which easily are removed from an organism.

2. Neutralization of end products of a metabolism and removal from an organism of excesses of hormones, vitamins, etc.

3. Providing an organism with glucose, by synthesis from various energy sources.

4. Recovery of a reserve and storage of some vitamins.

5. Formation of cholesterol and its ethers.

6. Synthesis of bilirubin and bile acids.

7. Synthesis of hormones and enzymes which participate in digestion in a duodenum and other departments of a small intestine.

8. Serves as the place of storage of large volume of blood which if necessary, for example, at blood loss, is thrown out the general vascular bed.

But liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, cancer, liver hemangiomas, various cysts and various viral infections can interfere with normal performance of these functions.

The most widespread disease of a liver today – cirrhosis. Cirrhosis – a chronic disease of a liver which is characteristic disturbance of lobular structure due to increase in volume of connecting fabric. Cirrhosis is shown in the form of functional insufficiency and a syndrome of supertension in system of a portal vein. The main reason for developing of cirrhosis – an alcoholism, a viral hepatitis, existence in a liver of harmful organisms.

Clarification of a liver can be applied to treatment of a liver. For independent clarification of a liver it is necessary to refuse addictions, having as much as possible reduced load of a liver. For full cleaning it is necessary to see a doctor who will personally appoint a course of procedures and medical actions.

If treatment of a liver is already impossible, then the modern medicine offers only one option – transplantation of a liver. Though this operation is made from the middle of the last century, the percent of its success is rather small – on average 55%.

Whether you know that:

The 74-year-old resident of Australia James Harrison became blood donor about 1000 times. It has a rare blood group which antibodies help to survive the newborn with a severe form of anemia. Thus, the Australian saved about two million children.

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