Anatomy & Physiology of

LIVER
By: Mrs. Anjali Kaushik

Anatomy of Liver
Liver is a large, solid, wedge shaped gland which occupies whole of right hypochondrium, the greater part of the epigastrium and part of the left hypochondrium up to the left lateral plane. It is the largest gland of the body and contributes about 2% of the total body weight. Weighs 1600gm in male and 1300gm in female

Anatomy of Liver
It has five surfaces: Anterior / Posterior /
Superior / Inferior and Right

It is divided into right and left lobe by falciform ligament anteriorly and superiorly, by the fissure of ligamentum teres inferiorly and by the fissure for ligamentum venosum posterioly. Right lobe is much larger than the left lobe and forms five sixth of the liver , and also presents the caudate and quadrate lobe.

Organs associated with Liver

Superiorly and Anteriorly Diaphragm and anterior abdominal wall Inferiorly - Stomach, bile ducts, duodenum, hepatic flexure of the colon, right Kidney and adrenal gland Posteriorly Oesophagus, inferior vena cava, aorta, gall bladder, vertebral column and diaphragm Laterally Lower ribs and diaphragm

Structure of the Liver

The liver is enclosed in a thin inelastic capsule and incompletely covered by a layer of peritoneum. Lobes of Liver: The liver has four lobes the two are large right lobe, and the smaller wedge shaped left lobe, the other two the caudate and quadrate lobes, are areas on the posterior surface

Structure of the Liver

The Portal Fissure: This a name given to the region on the posterior surface of the liver where various structures enter and leave the gland. The portal vein enters, carrying blood from the stomach, spleen, pancreas and the small and large intestines. The hepatic artery enters, carrying arterial blood. It is a branch from the celiac artery, which is a branch from the abdominal aorta. Nerve fibres, sympathetic and parasympathetic, enter here. The right and left hepatic duct, leave carrying bile from the liver to the gall bladder. Lymph vessels leave the liver, draining some lymph to abdominal and some to thoracic nodes.

Structure of the Liver

Blood Supply
80% of blood supply is derived from portal vein. 20% is derived from hepatic artery. Before entering the liver both hepatic artery and portal vein divide into right and left branches. Within the liver they redivide into segmental vessels, which further divide to form interlobular vessels which run in portal canals.

Lymphatic Drainage
Superficial lymphatics terminate in: Caval / Hepatic / Paracardial and Coeliac lymph node. Deep lymphatics terminate in: Supra diaphragmatic and Hepatic lymph node. Nerve supply Liver receives its nerve supply from hepatic plexus which contains both sympathetic and parasympathetic or vagal plexus.

Microscopic structure of Liver

The lobes of the liver are made up of tiny functional units called lobules, which are just visible to the naked eye. Liver lobules are hexagonal in outline and are formed by cubicle shaped cells, the hepatocytes, arranged in pairs of columns radiating from a central vein. Between two pairs of columns of cells are sinusoids (blood vessels with incomplete walls) containing a mixture of blood from the tiny branches of portal vein and hepatic artery.

Microscopic structure of Liver

Amongst the cells lining the sinusoids are hepatic microphages (Kupffer cells) whose function is to ingest and destroy worn out blood cells and any foreign particles present in the blood flowing through the liver. Bile canaliculi run between the columns of liver cells. This means that each column of hepatocytes has blood sinusoids on one side and a bile canaliculus on the other. The canaliculi join up to form larger bile canals until eventually they form the right and left hepatic ducts, which drain bile from the liver.

Microscopic structure of Liver

Liver Physiology
Liver performs many different functions which can be summarized as:
a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) Carbohydrate metabolism Lipid metabolism Protein metabolism Processing of drugs and hormones Excretion of bilirubin Synthesis of bile salts Storage Phagocytosis Activation of vitamin D