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Anatomy and physiology

The liver is the heaviest organ in the body. It weighs approximately 1.4 kg and is highly vascular. It is incompletely covered by a layer of peritoneum and enclosed in a thin inelastic capsule. There are two main lobes in the liver: the large right lobe and the smaller left lobe, which is wedge shaped. The caudate and quadrate lobes are on the posterior surface and are continuations of the left lobe (Tortora and Derrickson [243]).

Functions of the liver

The liver has many functions, including:
  • carbohydrate metabolism and contributing to maintenance of blood glucose levels
  • lipid metabolism
  • protein metabolism: converting ammonia into urea
  • drug and hormone processing: detoxifying the body
  • activation of vitamin D
  • excretion of bilirubin
  • phagocytosis of some bacteria and aged blood cells
  • storage of some vitamins, iron, copper and glycogen (Tortora and Derrickson [243]).
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