Liver Anatomy and Function
The liver is found in the upper right-hand side of the abdomen under the ribs. It is a dark reddish-brown organ that weighs about three pounds.
The liver has a right lobe and a left lobe. Blood enters the liver from the hepatic artery and the hepatic portal vein and leaves the liver from the hepatic vein. The blood from the artery carries oxygen while the portal vein carries nutrients from the intestine.
The liver holds about 13 percent of the body's blood supply at any given moment. Inside the two lobes is a network of tubes, also called the biliary tree that carries bile from the liver to the intestine.
Bile is a substance that helps carry away wastes and is needed for the breakdown and absorption of dietary fats. Each tube is called a duct. Smaller ducts connect to larger ducts. The larger ducts join to form the hepatic duct. This duct network allows bile to drain out of the liver.
What Does the Liver Do?
The liver does over 500 jobs. Some of the jobs include:
- Storing energy
- Helping build muscles
- Stopping cuts from bleeding
- Killing germs, helping keep the body healthy
- Making bile to help digest foods
- Keeping pollutants from hurting the body
- Filtering toxic chemicals from the body
Many of the liver's jobs are related to nutrition. It is very important to understand and respond to your child's nutritional needs. As it relates to nutrition, the liver works to:
- Break down the major nutrients in foods (protein, fats and carbohydrates)
- Store vitamins A, D, E and K
- Build proteins
- Remove waste products of nutrient breakdown
- Make and secrete bile
Written 2/03, rev. 9/04, 5/06
