Hepatic 1 Flashcards
what are the overall functions of the liver?
- removes toxic byproducts of certain medications
- metabolizes or breaks down nutrients from food to produce energy
- helps your body fight infection by removing bacteria from the blood
- produces substances that regulate blood clotting
- produces bile which is needed to digest fat and absorb vitamins A, D, E and K
- produces most proteins needed by the body
- prevents shortages of nutrients by storing vitamins, minerals, and sugar
how big is the liver?
2.5-3 lbs
largest organ in the body
what is the basic functional unit of the liver
- lobule
- cylindrical shape
- several mm long and 0.8-2 mm wide
how many lobules are in the liver
50,000-100,000
what are the basic structures of a liver lobule (9)?
- portal vein
- sinusoids
- central vein
- hepatic artery
- bile canaliculi and bile duct (“capillaries” that transport bile)
- space of disse and lymphatic duct
- hepatic cellular plates
- kuppfer cells (macrophages in liver)
- interlobular septa
Space of Disse
space around the endothelial cells; plasma goes through large gaps of endothelial cells and into this space; eventually drains into lymphatics
what is the portal triad?
-portal vein
-hepatic artery
-bile duct
these are the components of a typical portal canal
celiac trunk artery
- important for hepatic blood flow
- gives rise to hepatic artery so supplies blood to liver
where does the liver receive blood flow from?
- the portal vein and the hepatic artery
- both supply about 50% of the liver’s O2 requirement
SvO2 of portal vein
85%
SaO2 of hepatic artery
98-100%
what is normal hepatic blood flow?
1500 mL/min
about 25-30% of CO
how much hepatic blood flow comes from portal vein and hepatic artery respectively?
- portal vein - 1100 mL (75%)
- hepatic artery - 400 mL (25%)
what is the avg portal vein pressure?
9 mmHg
resistance to blood flow through the liver
- portal vein pressure on avg is 9 mmHg
- pressure in hepatic vein leaving liver and entering IVC normally averages 0 mmHg
- small pressure difference demonstrates that resistance to flow in hepatic sinusoids is VERY low
- resistance MUST be low given than 1500 mL of blood flows through the liver each minute
- calculate resistance using ohm’s law
how long does it take for blood to traverse from the portal vein to the central vein?
- 8 to 9 seconds
- promotes sufficient time for the blood to be in contact with the hepatocytes and kupffer cells
what is hepatic arterial blood flow dependent on?
- autoregulation
- metabolic demand
- constriction and dilation dependent on local conditions
what is hepatic portal vein blood flow dependent on?
-blood flow to the GI tract and the spleen
Liver blood flow compensation
- change in blood flow from one source will produce a reciprocal (but somewhat limited) compensatory change in the blood flow from the other source
- decrease in hepatic arterial blood flow produces an increase in portal venous blood flow
cirrhosis and hepatic blood flow
- cirrhosis greatly increases the resistance to blood flow
- destruction of the liver parnechymal cells results in replacement with fibrous tissue that contracts around the blood vessels (bridging fibrosis)
- bridging fibrosis = fibrotic tissue bridges across sinusoids and cuts them off
- greatly impedes portal vein blood flow
most common cause of cirrhosis
alcoholism
other common causes of cirrhosis
- viral hepatitis
- obstruction of bile ducts
- infection in the bile ducts
- ingestion of poisons (carbon tetrachloride - formerly used in dry cleaning)
- non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
fatty liver
- deposits of fat cause liver enlargement
- strict abstinence can lead to a full recovery
liver fibrosis
- scar tissue forms
- recovery is possible but scar tissue remains
cirrhosis
- growth of connective tissue destroys liver cells
- damage is irreversible
NAFLD
- non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- hepatocytes accumulate excess fat (a process known as steatosis)
- such fat can come from the diet, be made in the liver, or be released by insulin resistance fatty adipose tissue
- 25% of population has NAFLD
common causes of NAFLD
- obesity
- DMTII
- metabolic syndrome
- nutrition
- medication
NASH
- non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
- develops when accumulated fat causes stress and injury to hepatocytes
- bloated hepatocytes swell further and start to die causing inflammation
- scarring occurs as collagen fibers replace dead cells
- 30% of those with NAFLD get NASH
what percentage of those with NASH develop cirrhosis?
20%
hepatic artery blood vessel receptors
- alpha 1 adrenergic receptors - vasoconstriction
- beta 2 adrenergic, dopaminergic D1 receptors, and cholinergic receptors - produce vasodilation
portal vein blood vessel receptors
- alpha 1 adrenergic receptors - vasoconstriction
- d 1 dopaminergic receptors - produces vasodilation (but not to the same extent as the arterial system
SNS activation + hepatic blood flow
- hepatic artery and mesenteric vessel vasoconstriction
- decreased hepatic blood flow
liver as blood reservoir
- expandable organ
- large quantities of blood can be stored in its blood vessels
- liver normal blood volume including what is in the veins and sinusoids = 450 mL
- acts as blood reservoir when there is excess blood volume and can supply extra volume when blood volume is diminished
High pressure in RA + Liver blood reservoir
high pressure in RA produces back pressure in liver –> expands 0.5-1L can be stored
(happens in CHF)
low pressure in body + liver blood reservoir
blood shifts from hepatic veins and sinusoids into central circulation
as much as 300 mL
does blood from the portal vein have bacteria
- yes!!
- almost always grows gram negative rods when cultured
- blood from intestinal capillaries has bacteria from the gut
- HOWEVER we don’t grow bacilli from a systemic blood sample bc kupffer cells
kupffer cells function
- line hepatic and venous sinusoids
- cleanse blood as it passes through these sinuses
- phagocytose cellular debris, viruses, proteins, and particulate matter
- release various enzymes, cytokines, and other chemical mediators
liver + lymph production
- liver has very high lymph flow
- pores in sinusoids are VERY permeable and allow easy passage of fluid and protein into the spaces of disse
- this permits large amounts of lymph with a protein concentration similar to plasma to form
how much of the body’s lymph comes from the liver?
about 1/2 of all lymph
what does high hepatic vascular pressure cause?
fluid transudation into the abdominal cavity
3-7 mmHg increase in hepatic venous pressure
- causes excessive amounts of lymph fluid
- can leak through the outer surface of the liver capsule into the abdominal cavity
10-15 mmHg increase in hepatic venous pressure
- can cause lymph flow to be 20x normal
- produces sweating from a liver surface with large amounts of free fluid entering the abdominal cavity
- this is ASCITES
blockage of portal vein + lymph flow
- creates high pressure in the GI tract
- transudation of fluid through the gut into the abdominal cavity
- MORE ascites
anabolic reaction
- involves the building of larger, complex molecules from smaller, simpler ones
- require input of energy
catabolic reaction
- opposite of anabolic reaction
- break the chemical bonds in larger, more complex molecules
hepatic metabolism in GENERAL
- liver = large chemically reactant pool of cells
- have HIGH rate of metabolism
- share substrates and energy from one system to another
- processes and synthesizes multiple substances that are transported throughout the body (numerous enzymatic pathways)
what are the final products of carbohydrate (CHO) metabolism?
- glucose
- fructose
- galactose
- AKA the monosaccharides
what is the final common pathway of CHO metabolism?
glucose
-this is because fructose and galactose are converted into glucose by the liver
what do all cells use to make ATP?
GLUCOSE (duh!) = ATP = energy
what are the four specific liver functions associated with CHO metabolism?
- conversion of galactose and fructose to glucose
- storage of large amounts of glycogen
- gluconeogenesis
- formation of many chemical compounds from intermediate products of CHO metabolism
chemical formula of the monosaccharides
C6H12O6
glycogen
- branched polymer of glucose
- how most glucose is stored following a meal
- readily available source of glucose that does not contribute to intracellular osmolality
- storage as glycogen allows the liver to remove excess glucose from the blood, store it, and return it to the blood when BG concentration decreases
glucose buffer function
- allows the liver to remove excess glucose from the blood, store it, and return it to the blood when BG concentration decreases
- have glucose available, but maintain osmotic homeostasis
what happens when glycogen storage capacity is exceeded?
glucose is converted to FAT
what in the body can store significant amounts of glycogen?
- liver
- muscle
insulin
enhances glycogen storage
epinephrine and glucagon
enhance glycogen breakdown (glycogenolysis)
24 hour fast
- amount of time it takes for hepatic glycogen stores to be exhausted
- after this gluconeogenesis is necessary to provide an uninterrupted supply of glucose (and remember glucose = ATP = energry)
gluconeogenesis
- occurs only when BG concentration falls below normal
- V important in maintenance of normal BG concentration
- convert amino acids, glycerol, pyruvate, and lactate to glucose
- can be done by liver and kidneys
agents that increase gluconeogenesis
- glucocorticoids
- catecholamines
- glucagon
- thyroid hormone
agents that decrease gluconeogenesis
-insulin
fat metabolism by liver
- CHO storage capacity is saturated the liver converts the excess ingested CHOs to fat
- fatty acids are used for fuel or stored in the adipose tissue and liver for later use
- most cells can directly use FAs as an energy source
- RBCs and renal medulla can only use glucose
- neurons normally use glucose but can use ketone bodies produced in the liver by the breakdown of FAs following a few days of starvation
specific functions of liver associated with fat metabolism
- oxidation of fatty acids to supply energy for other body functions
- synthesis of large amounts of cholesterol, phospholipids and lipoproteins
- synthesis of fat from CHO and proteins
oxidation of fatty acids
- fats must be split into glycerol and FAs
- FAs are then split by beta oxidation into 2-carbon acetyl radicals that form acetyl coenzyme A
- acetyl CoA enters citric acid cycle and is oxidized to liberate LOTS of energy (in form of ATP)
beta oxidation
- oxidation = give/donate electrons
- occurs in all cells of the body but especially rapidly in liver cells
what does the liver do with the Acetyl Co-A it cannot use
- convert to acetoacetic acid (combo of two acetyl Co-A molecules)
- acetoacetic acid is highly soluble so leaves hepatocytes and is absorbed by other tissues
- tissues reconvert acetoacetic acid back into acetyl CoA to enter citric acid cycle and oxidize it for energy
- liver responsible for a MAJOR part of fat metabolism