The Liver What is my liver Your liver

The Liver What is my liver? Your liver is a large and important organ in your body Where is my liver? Your liver is located behind the lower right part of your ribs 1

This is an in-situ photograph of the chest and abdominal contents. As can be seen, the liver is lying just below the diaphragm. The right lobe (at the left in the photograph) is larger than the left lobe. A ligament is the rough dividing line between the two lobes. 2

FUNCTIONS OF THE LIVER: v Carbohydrate metabolism v. Glycogenesis v. Glycogenolysis v. Gluconeogenesis v v Fat metabolism ketogenesis Protein metabolism vanabolism vdeamination vurea formation v v Secretion of bile Detoxification Metabolism of vitamins A, D, K, B & Clotting factors, esp prothrombin 3

What does my liver do? The Liver • Stores vitamins, sugars, fats and other nutrients from the food that you eat • Builds chemicals that your body needs to stay healthy • Breaks down harmful substances, like alcohol and other toxic (poisonous) chemicals • Removes waste products from your blood • Makes sure that your body has just the right amount of other chemicals that it needs 4

What Is Cirrhosis? Cirrhosis, (pronounced "sir-o-sis"), is a medical term that means “scarring of the liver. " When you have cirrhosis, large parts of your liver are damaged. Because it has been damaged, your liver may not work as well as it should. Cirrhosis can be very dangerous if it is not treated properly. 5