Functions of the liver

Question 1

What is deamination?

Answer 1

It occurs during protein metabolism/breakdown
Liver cells remove surplus amino acids, resulting in the production of ammonia, which is a toxic waste product
The liver converts ammonia into less toxic urea, which is transported to the kidneys by the blood, and removed in urine
The remaining amino acid is fed into cellular respiration within the mitochondria of the liver cell, resulting in the production of ATP and heat energy

Question 2

What is detoxification?

Answer 2

Liver cells also remove poisons like alcohol by breaking them down into harmless components
Drugs can also be broken down and if they are overused can result in liver failure

Question 3

How is bile produced in the liver?

Answer 3

Bile is a product of the liver as a result of the breakdown of red blood cells
It is then stored in the gallbladder and used in the small intestine to emulsify fats
Bile also allows the liver to remove some poisonous by-products from metabolism
Liver cells break down and recycle red blood cells. As these cells lack a nucleus, they have a limited life span of 3 months, and then the liver breaks them down
As haemoglobin from red blood cells is recycled, two poisonous coloured chemicals are produced, biliverdin and bilirubin that pass into the bile and out of our body

Question 4

what do these two coloured poisonous chemicals do?

Answer 4

Give faeces their colour

Question 5

What happens with some forms of liver disease?

Answer 5

if there is an obstruction such as gallstones, these chemicals cannot pass out in the bile, and pass into the blood instead
This causes jaundice and if untreated rising levels of bilirubin and biliverdin will cause brain damage and even death