Functions of the Liver

The liver is an important organ in the body of human beings. It is located below the diaphragm at the right side of the abdomen. The color of the liver is reddish-brown and it weighs around 1.3 kg. The liver is divided into two unequal sized lobes. These contain blood capillaries, liver cells and the bile capillaries. These are important for the liver to perform their functions properly.

• Liver regularizes the level of blood sugar in the body by turning all the excess of sugar into glycogen. This glycogen is stored into the body and is converted back into glucose when the sugar level of the body goes down.
• Liver processes the digested food from the intestine.
• Liver is responsible for the production of biles that helps to break down the dietary fats in the body.
• The amino acids in the body are regularized by the liver. The excess ones are converted into urea and sent to the kidneys to be thrown outside the body.
• Liver helps to clear the blood by destroying bacteria and infections.
• Liver manufactures the different enzymes and proteins that are important for the various chemical reactions in the body. In order to determine if the secretion of these enzymes, a liver function test is conducted.
• It is responsible for clotting of the blood and repair of the damaged tissues.
• Liver also acts as a storage for blood; it swells and stores blood in it to be used when the body needs blood very urgently.
• Vitamins like Vitamin A, B12 and D are stored in the liver.
• Liver is responsible for the breaking and storing of the carbohydrates into glycogen. This glycogen is converted into energy, whenever the body needs it.
• When red bloods cells die in our body, the iron in them is removed and stored by the liver for future use.
• Albumin is a blood protein that is needed by the body in order to maintain a balance of fluid in the blood streams and in the tissues of the body.
• Those waste products that cannot be passed out of the body by the kidneys are eliminated from the blood by the liver. These products are later passed on to the bowels through the bile ducts.
• Keeping the bilirubin levels in check, is also one of the several functions of the liver.
• Our body has a defense mechanism which is known as the macrophage system or the Kupffer cells. Half of these are present in the liver which enables it to fight the bacteria, that enter the intestines or bowels, and killing them effectively.
• Liver also produces a lot of heat that is carried to the rest of the body through the blood. This heat activates the regions which are inactive.

When alcohol is consumed, it gets absorbed into the blood streams from the stomach and the intestines. This blood flows through the liver and hence there is a large concentration of alcohol in the liver. There are certain enzymes in the liver that break down this alcohol and turn them in water and carbon dioxide, which is thrown out of the body. The liver can perform this exercise for a certain amount of alcohol and when there is a huge consumption of alcohol, the liver finds it difficult to deal with the excessive amounts. When a person drinks too much of alcohol, he/she may face three types of alcohol diseases. - fatty liver, hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. Too much of drinking leads to the following.

• There is a lot of damage to the cells in the liver due to alcohol.
• There are blood vessels that flow into the liver that carry food from the small intestine into the liver. This function is impaired due to alcohol as too much of alcohol inflame the veins and blood streams. This causes digestive problems.
• As mentioned earlier, liver removes harmful toxins from the body. This is an important function of the liver and if the liver is impaired, then all these toxins are absorbed by the blood and the different organs of the body. This is not good for the body.
• One of the various functions of the liver is to remove and store all the nutrients and the iron from the dead red blood cells. This function cannot be performed by the liver if it is impaired due to alcohol. One of these nutrients is bilirubin and when this nutrient does not get converted and stored properly, it builds up and gives the person jaundice. This bilirubin is detected by conducting abnormal liver function tests.
• In severe cases, alcohol may lead to liver cancer and damage to the other organs of the body.

As you can see from the above, liver is a very vital organ of our body and there are a number of functions that are important. If the liver fails to work or is in some way harmed, then the consequences are severe.