Question

If the liver is removed, which component of the blood will increase?
A. Ammonia
B. Protein
C. Uric acid
D. Urea

Answer 1

Hint: Liver is the largest gland in the body, weighing about 1.6 kg and forms about 1/40 th of the body weight. It is located on the upper right side of the abdominal cavity. It is dark red and spongy. The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile secreted by the liver.

Complete answer: The liver is much more than a mere digestive gland. It plays an important role in the whole process of metabolism. Ammonia resulting from deamination is immediately converted into harmless urea. The latter is sent via blood to the kidneys for removal as urine. Drugs are also detoxified in the liver. Alcohol is broken down to acetaldehyde and then to acetyl CoA, a relatively harmless substance. So, when the liver is removed, the level of ammonia rises in the blood level.
The other functions of the liver are:
a) Digestion - The bile produced in the liver helps in the digestion of food by emulsifying bacteria. It also prevents decomposition of food by checking the growth of bacteria and it neutralizes the acid coming from the stomach.
b) Regulation of blood sugar: The liver separates the excess of sugar from the blood and it stores it in its cells as glycogen (animal starch). This process is called glycogenesis and is aided by the pancreatic hormone insulin.
c) Formation of glycogen from non-carbohydrate sources: Excess of amino acids/fats diet are also changed into glycogen. This process is called gluconeogenesis.
So, the correct answer is option A.

Note: Other functions of the liver include formation fat from glucose and amino acids, deamination, excretion, blood clotting, the formation of red blood, destruction of red blood corpuscles, phagocytosis, synthesis of vitamin A, production of heat, osmoregulation and formation of plasma proteins.