The liver is the largest gland in the body and provides many biological functions, including that of a powerful filter. Where is he ? What is it used for ? What are the diseases related to the liver?
What is the liver?
Liver is a vital organ, brown red and firm. It is largest gland in the body and provides many biological functions, including that of a powerful filter. Liver measures an average of 28 cm across and weighs nearly 1.5 kg on average. He is refill of blood (800 to 900 grams on average). He is the organ the largest in the human body. The liver is made up of two lobes, the right, which is the largest, and the left. Medicines and alcohol are the enemies of the liver. Self-medication should be avoided, as well as chronic alcohol consumption.
Diagram of the liver
What is the role of the liver?
The liver has many functions in the body. It mainly has a role of filtering, storing and purifying the body. It has the function of “detoxify” the body of alcohol, drugs and all toxins. It is also at the origin of the synthesis of bile, essential for digestion. It also has a role in the synthesis of coagulation proteins.
What is the composition of the liver?
He is located near the diaphragm, located itself under the right lung. The liver is connected to the most important veins : the portal vein which drains the blood from the digestive organs and the spleen to the liver, and the hepatic veins which drain the blood leaving the liver to the inferior vena cava then to the heart. This is how its filter function can be ensured.
Liver pathologies
The main pathologies of the liver are represented by:
- viral hepatitisare classified as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E and have different severities.
- autoimmune hepatitis,
- fatty liver disease corresponds to an accumulation of fat in the liver, it may be the NASH syndrome, or human fatty liver syndrome, not related to chronic alcohol intoxication. It is reversible but can also be a stage preceding the cirrhosis.
- liver cirrhosis
- primary liver cancer and secondary cancers: primary liver cancers, or adenocarcinoma, are rarer than secondary cancers.
On the health forum: discussions regarding the liver
To be retained
► The liver is the largest gland in the body.
► The liver measures an average of 28 cm across and weighs almost 1.5 kg on average.
► Drugs and alcohol are enemies of the liver.
► The liver is the origin of the synthesis of bile, essential for digestion.
► Hepatitis is the main liver disease.