Question

How is the liver an important organ in our body?

Answer 1

Hint: The liver is the largest organ in our body and performs many metabolic functions. Digested food before ejection gets processed in the liver and toxic substances get removed with the help of blood.

Complete answer:
The liver connects with all body organs and helps to perform the proper function of the body, the liver controls more than 19 functions of the body system therefore it is important in our body.
The liver is the largest gland in our body weighing 1.4-1.8 Kg in men and 1.2-1.4 Kg in women. Liver covered by outer covering serous capsule and inner covering Glisson's capsule. The liver is divided into the right and left lobe separated by the falciform ligament. The right lobe of the liver differentiated into the right lobe proper, quadrate lobe, and caudate lobe. The structural and functional unit of the liver is a hepatic lobule. In mammals, the liver also contains Kuffer cells which are phagocytic in nature, it consumes bacteria and worn-out blood corpuscles. Blood enters the liver via the hepatic artery and hepatic portal vein. The liver also produces a blood-clotting protein with the help of Vitamin K. Liver is capable of regenerating fastly, that’s why it has a high power of regeneration.

Additional Information: The liver performs many functions such as-
-Bile production- Bile is the main secretion of the liver, bile salt helps in the digestion of fat by emulsification. The liver secretes about 0.5-1.0 liter of bile per day.
-Deamination- Deamination is carried out by liver cells by which the amino group is removed out from amino acid and ammonia is formed, this ammonia gets converted into urea and transported into the kidney through which it ejects out in form of urine.
-Excretion- The bile in the liver contains bilirubin and biliverdin as bile pigment and this bile pigment is the excretory product. The liver also passes out a waste product like cholesterol, metal ions, and hemoglobin waste product to the duodenum with the help of bile and this waste product ejects out in the form of feces.
-Glycogenesis- The liver is the storehouse of glycogen. The liver converts excess glucose into glycogen with the help of insulin.
-Glycogenolysis- The liver converts glycogen into glucose with the help of glucagon. This conversion takes place when there is insufficient glucose in our body to perform body function.
-Gluconeogenesis- The liver also converts amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerol into glucose and glycogen.
-Lipogenesis- The formation of fat from glucose and amino acid is called Lipogenesis.
-Detoxification- Toxic substance converted into a harmless substance in the liver.
-Haemopoiesis- In the embryo stage formation of blood corpuscles take place in the liver.
-Synthesis of blood proteins- Prothrombin and fibrinogen produce in the liver which functions for blood clotting.
-Secretion of heparin- Heparin is the anticoagulant, and secretion of heparin takes place in the liver.
-Formation of lymph- Lymph is a whitish fluid consisting of WBC.
-Secretions of enzymes- Enzymes help in the breakdown of starch, protein, fat, and carbohydrate.
-Synthesis of vitamin A- The liver synthesizes vitamin A from the orange-yellow pigment of carrot-like beta-carotene. The liver also stores other vitamins like D, E, K, and B12. All these vitamins are fat-soluble except B12.
- Phagocytosis- Kupffer's cell is phagocytic in nature and helps to destroy disease-causing microorganisms and foreign matter by eating them.
- Destruction of RBC- The hemoglobin of destroyed RBC is a change in bile pigment with help of RBC.
-Osmoregulation- Maintenance of body fluid by the kidney takes place with the help of protein angiotensin and the production of this protein takes place in the liver.
-Heat production- Due to high metabolic activity the liver generates optimum body temperature.
In addition to vitamin, the liver also stores glycogen, fats, blood, water, and ions like iron, copper, and potassium.
Bile secretion of the liver is stored in the gallbladder which lies in the groove of the right lobe of the liver in the lower surface.

Note: High amounts of drug, alcohol and junk foods cease or slow down the function of the liver by which the body becomes weak and the body starts to suffer from any forms of the disease. Liver cirrhosis is fatal because the normal cell of the liver gets replaced by scar tissue by which the liver cannot function properly. Other liver diseases include gall stone, hepatitis, hemochromatosis, jaundice, etc.