Liver
The liver
The liver is the second largest organ in the human body (the largest organ being the skin) and is situated immediately under the diaphragm on the right side of the upper abdomen. The liver lies on the right of the stomach and makes a kind of bed for the gallbladder (which stores bile).
The liver is supplied by two main blood vessels on its right lobe: the hepatic artery and the portal vein. The hepatic artery normally comes off the celiac trunk. The portal vein brings venous blood from the spleen, pancreas, and small intestines, so that the liver can process the nutrients and byproducts of food digestion. The hepatic veins drain directly into the inferior vena cava.
Function of the Liver
The liver has a major role in dealing with the nutrient products of food digestion. It deals with drugs and other toxins absorbed via the intestines. It is involved in recycling red blood cells by breaking these down. One of the by-products of this process is bile, which plays a role in the digestion of fats. It produces essential proteins, clotting factors for the blood and it regulates cholesterol metabolism.
The liver is metabolically very active but despite this it is a remarkably resilient organ and the human body can withstand the loss of up to two thirds of the normal liver without the development of liver insufficiency. Following the loss of substantial liver volume the residual liver remnant will enlarge (hypertrophy). The liver is among the few internal human organs capable of natural regeneration of lost tissue; as little as 25% of remaining liver can regenerate into a whole liver again.