Liver

Question 1

What are the main metabolic waste products in mammals?

Answer 1

• CO2
• Bile pigments
• Nitrogenous waste (urea)

Question 2

How does the liver’s blood supply work?

Answer 2

• Hepatic portal vein delivers products of digestion to the liver.
• The hepatic artery delivers oxygenated blood.
• Both mix in the sinusoid and flow into the hepatic vein.

Question 3

Describe the structure of the sinusoid.

Answer 3

• Hepatic portal vein and hepatic artery both allow blood to flow into the sinusoid, then flows out through the hepatic vein.
• Hepatocytes produce bile which drains out of bile ducts via the bile canaliculus.
• Kuppfer cells are tissue bound macrophages which ingest foreign particles and help the breakdown of blood into the canaliculi.

Question 4

What are the roles of the liver?

Answer 4

• Carbohydrate metabolism
• Deamination of XS AAs
• Transamination
• Detoxification