Hepatic Physiology Flashcards
Anesthesia’s goals pertaining to the liver
maintain BP and oxygenation, keep the function that the patient does have
What does the liver do to drugs? (simplified)
makes them water soluble so they can be eliminated by the kidneys
What are the basic structures of a liver lobule?
portal vein, sinusoids, central vein, hepatic artery, bile canaliculi and bile duct, space of disse, lymphatic duct, hepatic cellular plates, kupffer cells, interlobular septa
What makes the structural shape of the liver lobule advantageous?
hexagonal shape that shares blood supply and bile ducts in multiple directions with abutting lobules
What are the two sources of blood supply to the liver?
portal vein
hepatic artery
What is the significance of the space of Disse?
drains into the lymph
What are sinusoids structurally/functionally similar to?
capillaries
What does the liver cell plate do?
collects bile into the bile canaliculi
What organ is a huge source of lymph?
the liver!
Where are the Kupffer cells and what do they do?
inside the sinusoids and are macrophages that remove bacteria
What is the best source of oxygenation to the liver?
the hepatic artery
How much of the livers O2 requirement does the portal vein supply?
50%
Portal vein SvO2
85%
How much of the livers O2 requirement does the hepatic artery supply?
50%
Hepatic artery SaO2
98-100%
The liver has ___ blood flow and ___ vascular resistance
high; low
normal hepatic blood flow
1500mL/minute (25-30% of CO)
How much of the hepatic blood flow comes from the portal vein?
1100 mL/ minute (75% of total)
How much of the hepatic blood flow comes from the hepatic artery?
400 mL/ minute (25% of total)
What is the average portal vein pressure as blood enters the liver?
9 mmHg
Pressure in the hepatic vein leaving the liver to the inferior vena cava is about
0 mmHg
If resistance increases (what can it lead to)
portal hypertension
Hepatic arterial blood flow is dependent on
metabolic demand (autoregulation)
Hepatic portal vein blood flow is dependent on
blood flow to the GI tract and spleen
A decrease in hepatic arterial blood flow produces an ___ portal venous blood flow
increase
If arterial pressure is decreased then
decreased pressure through the hepatic artery and the portal vein
The superior mesenteric artery supplies blood to ___ (which organs)
colon, small intestines, pancreas
The celiac artery supplies blood to ___ (which organs)
stomach, spleen, pancreas
The inferior mesenteric artery supplies blood to ___ (which organs)
the colon
The blood supply from portal vein comes from (which organs)
stomach, spleen, pancreas, small intestines, and colon
Cirrhosis ___ the resistance to blood
greatly increases!
Patho of cirrhosis
destruction of liver parenchymal cells = replacement with fibrous tissue that contracts around the blood vessels = impedes portal vein blood flow
Most common cause of cirrhosis ___
alcoholism
Causes of cirrhosis (besides alcoholism)
viral hepatitis, obstruction of bile ducts, infection in the bile ducts, ingestion of poisons, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
stages of alcohol induced liver damage (3)
- fatty liver (deposits = liver enlargement) *is recoverable
- liver fibrosis (scar tissue forms) *recovery possible but with scar tissue
- cirrhosis (connective tissue destroys liver cells) *irreversible!!
micronodular cirrhosis
alcohol abuse can lead directly to cirrhosis from repeated exposure of the cells to toxins causing fibrosis and cirrhosis
What medications can cause liver disease?
TPN, amiodarone
What are the 3 most common causes of liver disease?
obesity, T2DM, metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome
HTN, excess glucose and triglycerides, increased fat
NAFLD what does it stand for
non alcoholic fatty liver disease
25% of the US population has ___
NAFLD
NASH
nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (inflammation)
Up to 30% of people with NAFLD will develop
NASH
Up to 20% of people with NASH will develop
cirrhosis
Which receptors does the hepatic artery have?
alpha 1 (vasoconstriction), beta2 (vasodilation), dopa1 (vasodilation)
Which receptors does the portal vein have?
alpha 1, dopa1
sympathetic activation results in hepatic artery and mesenteric vessel ____ and ____ hepatic blood flow
vasoconstriction; decreased
beta 2 adrenergic stimulation ___ the hepatic artery
vasodilates
the liver’s normal blood volume including what is in the veins and sinusoids is
about 450mL
the liver can expand to hold how much blood (in liters)
up to 1 L
when low pressure exists (like in hemorrhage) how much blood can the liver shift into circulation?
as much as 300 mL
How is the bacteria in the blood from the portal vein “cleansed”?
Kupffer cells engulfs the bacteria and goes through phagocytosis
Pores in the sinusoids are ___
very permeable allowing passage of fluid and protein in to the spaces of disse
About how much lymph comes from the liver?
1/2
high hepatic vascular pressure causes ____
fluid transudation into the abdominal cavity
a _____ increase in hepatic venous pressure can increase lymph flow to 20x normal
10-15 mmHg
How does ascites occur?
a high pressure in hepatic venous pressure leads to increase in lymph flow and back up of fluid that leaks through the liver capsule into the abdominal cavity
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins all lead to
the citric acid cycle and ATP production
list some metabolic functions of the liver
carbohydrate, fat, protein, and drug metabolism
carbohydrate metabolism final products
glucose, fructose, and galactose
all cells utilize _____ to produce energy in the form of ATP
glucose
specific liver functions with carbohydrate metabolism
convert galactose and fructose into glucose, storage of glycogen, gluconeogenesis, formation of chemical compounds
What are glucose, fructose, and galactose? What do they have in common?
simple sugars or monosaccharides
have the same chemical formula (C6H12O6) but structural formulas differ
storage of glycogen allows
the liver to remove excess glucose from the blood, store it, and return it to the blood when BG is low (glucose buffer function)
Glucose buffer function
removed excess glucose that is stored in the liver and then returned to the blood when BG gets low
Does glycogen contribute to intracellular osmolality?
no
Structure of glycogen
a branched polymer of glucose (just a bunch hooked together)
when glycogen storage capacity is full, glucose is converted to
fat
insulin ___ glycogen storage
enhances
epinephrine and glucagon ___ glycogen breakdown (aka glycogenolysis)
enhances
hepatic glycogen stores are depleted after a ___
24 hours fast
gluconeogensis kicks in to provide an uninterrupted supply of glucose
gluconeogenesis only occurs when
BG concentration falls below normal
agents that increase gluconeogenesis
glucocorticoids, catecholamines, glucagon, thyroid hormoen
agents that decrease gluconeogenesis
insulin
when carbohydrate storage capacity is saturated the liver converts the excess carbs to
fat
RBCs and renal medulla can only use ___ for energy
glucose
specific liver functions with fat metabolism
oxidation of fatty acids to supply energy, synthesis of large amounts of cholesterol, phospholipids, and lipoproteins, synthesis of fat from carbs and proteins
to derive energy from fat (triglycerides)
they must be split into glycerol and fatty acids
fatty acids are then split by beta oxidation into 2 carbon acetyl radicals that form acetyl CoA which enters the citric acid cycle to create a lot of ATP
the liver cannot use all of the ___ it produces
acetyl CoA
unused Acetyl CoA is
converted to acetoacetic acid which is highly soluble and leaves the hepatocytes enters the blood and absorbed by other tissues which will reconvert into acetyl CoA to be used to produce energy