Liver

Main article: Human body

The liver is the largest internal organ (iron) in humans. It is 2% of body weight (1.5-2 kg).

Liver function

Blood from the intestines, containing toxic substances and products of microorganisms, enters the liver through the portal vein.

In the liver, this blood is filtered and purified. The liver plays the role of a kind of "biochemical factory" in the body, in which a number of substances are produced and changed. In general, about five hundred (five hundred!) Metabolic reactions occur in the liver.

The main functions of the liver:

Metabolism

• Carbohydrate: synthesis and deposition of glycogen (up to 100 g).
• Protein: synthesis of albumin, coagulation factors, cholesterol.
• Fat: synthesis and deposit of fats, oxidation of fatty acids.

Digestion

• Bile production (up to 1.5 l/day), which is involved in the digestion of fats.
• Detoxification: neutralization and elimination of metabolic products, poisons, drugs from the body.

Protective function

• Synthesis of immunoglobulins.
• Phagocytosis (uptake) of bacteria and foreign particles.

Deposition

• Vitamins (A, D, E, K, B12).
• Trace elements (iron, copper).

Blood formation

• In the fetus, hematopoiesis occurs in the liver.

0.5-1 liters of bile per day is produced in the liver and accumulated in the gallbladder

On the lower surface of the liver, in a special depression, there is a gallbladder - a small bag with a volume of forty to seventy milliliters.

The gallbladder accumulates bile, a digestive secret that is produced by liver cells. During the day, the liver secretes from half a liter to a liter of bile.

Cholesterol production

Main article: Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is produced mainly in the liver, and also comes from our food inside the body, it is necessary for the formation of cell membranes and hormones.

Blood supply to the liver: from the intestine and from the heart

The liver deals with a very large flow of blood, and the uniqueness of its blood supply lies in the fact that blood comes to it from two sources.

75% of the blood comes from the intestines (through the portal vein) along with nutrients - digestive products that the liver processes and turns into energy.

The rest of the blood comes from the heart through the hepatic artery (aortic branch), carrying with it the oxygen the liver needs to produce energy. Blood flows through tiny passages between liver cells, where a large number of metabolic processes take place.

The blood then leaves the liver via the hepatic vein flowing into the body's largest vein, the inferior vena cava.

Liver regeneration

The liver is capable of regeneration. The liver is so important for normal human life that it even received a separate story in Greek mythology related to the punishment of Promete, who stole fire from the gods for people. According to the myth, every day the eagle cut out the liver of the hero, chained to the rock, and every night this organ was restored. There is nothing fabulous about the wonderful regeneration of the liver - it is really a unique organ that is capable of self-healing.

Prevention of liver disease

To preserve liver health, experts in 2024 recommend:

• get hepatitis A and B vaccinations,
• donate blood to hepatitis C in the presence of risk factors and, if detected, timely cure the disease,
• limit alcohol consumption,
• not to take medication without a doctor's prescription,
• monitor the weight,
• eat right,
• avoid contact with hepatotoxic (liver-damaging) substances.

When too much food or alcohol is consumed, the body manages this excess by converting some of the calories into fat that is stored in the liver. Many specialists for the prevention of liver disease recommend the so-called Mediterranean diet.

Diagnosis of liver disease

2021: Philips ultrasound tool to quantify liver fat announced

On November 16, 2021, Philips announced the release of ultrasound tools designed to improve the treatment of patients with early-stage liver disease. They are designed to quantify liver fat. Now radiologists armed with EPIQ Elite and Affiniti ultrasound scanners will be able to more easily assess the progression of liver disease, while reducing costs and increasing patients' access to sonography, this is a method of examination from images when an ultrasound sensor directs ultrasound into the human body. Read more here.

Liver disease

The liver has no nerve endings, so it often "does not signal problems" up to the development of life-threatening conditions - cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (cancer). The main causes of adverse outcomes, according to the European Association for the Study of Liver Diseases: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects more than a quarter of the world's population, liver cancer (more than 905,677 cases per year as of the beginning of 2024) and chronic viral hepatitis, mortality from which exceeds mortality from HIV/AIDS.

Cirrhosis

Main article: Cirrhosis of the liver

Hepatitis

Main article: Viral hepatitis (A, B, C, D and E)

Fatty liver disease (steatosis)

Main article: Fatty liver disease (steatosis)

2023: How to protect liver cells from death in obesity. Discovery of Russian scientists

Specialists of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (BFU) have found a way to protect liver cells from death in obesity. This was reported in April 2023 in the press service of the Social Center of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Read more here.

2021: Liver lesions seen in coronavirus patients who took steriods

At the end of July 2021, Indian researchers reported that patients with COVID-19 treated with steroids developed unusually large and multiple liver abscesses after recovery. Read more here.

Liver transplantation

Main article: Liver transplantation

Chronicle

2023: Moscow has developed a human liver-modeling phantom to improve the skills of specialists

Moscow scientists have developed a phantom that mimics the human liver. The artificial model reproduces the shape and internal structure of the organ and allows you to see an ultrasound image of veins, arteries and various formations. With its help, doctors will be able to train the ability to find pathologies under ultrasound control and conduct medical manipulations. This was announced by the Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine (NPCC DiT DZM) on November 2, 2023. Read more here.

World Liver Day - April 19

World Liver Day, which is celebrated on April 19, aims to help people learn more and take care of this crucial organ in time, as there are many ways to keep it healthy.