ANATOMY OF
LIVER
Lesson Overview




The liver
The gall bladder
Bile
The relationship with other intra-abdominal
structures.
Liver
 The liver is a major organ in some animals,
especially vertebrates (and therefore humans).
It plays a major role in metabolism and has a
number of functions in the body including glycogen storage,
 plasma protein synthesis,
 drug detoxification.
 This organ also is the largest gland in the
human body and lies beneath the diaphragm in
the upper right portion of the abdomen.
PARTS
 LOBES 4
 PORTAL FISSURE – portal vein, hepatic
artery, nerve fibres, hepatic ducts (R&L),
lymph vessels
 Blood supply – hepatic artery and portal
vein, hepatic veins
 Structure - hepatocytes
Blood flow through Liver
To Liver
• Portal vein
In Liver
• Interlobular vein -> sinusoid->
• Central vein
Leaving
Liver
• Hepatic vein –> Inf vena cava->
• Right atrium of heart
Functions
 De-aminates amino acids – a)removes
nitrogen, b)breaks down old nucleus- forming
uric acid
 Converts glucose to glycogen
 De-saturates fat – so it can be used for energy
 Produces heat
 Secretes bile
 Stores vitamins (B12, A,D,E,K) & Fe
 Synthesises Vit A
 Metabolises ethanol (alcohol)
 Inactivates hormones
Bile
 Bile is made in the liver and then goes to the
gall bladder to get concentrated.
 Bile is then secreted by the gall bladder. Then
it travels in the bile duct which opens into the
duodenum.
 Bile juice contains bile salt that helps to
emulsify fats, that is they break them down into
small globules which are easily digested by the
enzyme lipase present in the pancreatic juice.
Gall Bladder
 The gallbladder (or cholecyst,) is a pearshaped organ that stores about 50 mL of
bile (or "gall") until the body needs it for
digestion.
 The gallbladder is about 7-10 cm long in
humans and appears dark green
because of its contents (bile), rather than
its tissue. It is connected to the liver and
the duodenum by the biliary tract.
Composition of Bile