Answer
The liver, usually a reddish brown organ, is the largest gland in the body. It is located just below the diaphragm occupying most of the right epigastric and hypochondriac regions.
Anatomically, the liver comprises four lobes : right , left, quadrate and caudate lobes. The right and left lobes are separated by the falciform ligament, a sheet of mesentery that suspends the liver from the diaphragm and anterior abdominal wall. There is a round ligament connected to the liver: this a remnant of the umbilical cord of the fetus. Inferiorly, the quadrate lobe is seen as lying next to the gallbladder, and the caudate lobe is posterior to the gallbladder. The point where vessels ( hepatic portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct) enter and leave the liver is known as the porta hepatis. On the posterior surface of the liver is a deep depression in which runs the inferior vena cava . The surface of the liver is covered with serosa, except where it makes contact with the diaphragm.
Work Step by Step
The digestive function of the liver is the secretion of bile. When there is chyme in the duodenum, bile enters the small intestine through the hepatopancreatic sphincter ( Sphincter of Oddi) , but between meals , closure of the sphincter prevents bile from flowing into the duodenum. Bile acids and lecithin aid in the digestion and absorption of fats. All other components of bile are treated as waste products by the digestive system, and are excreted in feces.
