Liver, Gallbladder, Biliary System and Pancreas Flashcards
What is the liver
largest gland
Where is the liver located in the abdomen?
Lies across the upper abdomen under the diaphragm; in the right hypochondrium and most of epigastric region
How does the liver move in inspiration?
Descends
What is the liver surrounded by?
Surrounded by peritoneum except for the bare area (related to diaphragm posteriorly)
Where should the liver not be palpable?
below the costal margin
What is the liver surrounded by deep it its peritoneum?
the liver is completely surrounded by the Glisson’s capsule that is a thin connective tissue layer sending extensions into the organ in-between the lobules
What two sources does the lvier receieve blood from?
- Hepatic portal vein: Brings absorbed nutrients and drains venous blood of stomach, small intestine, part of large intestine, pancreas and spleen
- Hepatic artery proper: Supplies the hepatocytes with oxygen
How is bile drained from the liver?
drained via canaliculi that lie between the hepatocytes into bile ductules & eventually into bile ducts
What is the venous drainage of the liver?
Venous drainage is by hepatic veins that enter the inferior vena cava
What are the four main functions of the liver?
- Synthesis & secretion of bile
- Storage of glucose, glycogen, proteins, vitamins and fats
- Detoxification of metabolic waste
- Synthesis of blood clotting & anticoagulant factors (fibrinogen & prothrombin)
Describe the processes involved in the synthesis and secretion of bile
- Constituents of bile: bile pigments (chiefly bilirubin), cholesterol, phospholipids (lecithin), fatty acids, water & electrolytes
- Bile pigments are derived as the breakdown products of haemoglobin
- Kupffer cells (fixed phagocytes) play a role in the formation of bile pigments
- Bile salts are responsible for the detergent & emulsifying effect of bile on fats
- Bile salts also increase the absorption of fats by the small intestine
What is a hepatic lobule?
smallesr functional unit of the liver
Where does blood from the hepatic artery proper and portal vein pass into?
sinusoids and flow into the central vein
Where do sinusoids lie?
between sheets of hepatocytes
What is the function of hepatocytes?
produce bile and detoxify blood
How does bile flow in the liver?
lows in the canaliculi between the hepatocytes towards biliary ducts
What are the 2 main surfaces of the liver
diaphragmatic and visceral surfaces
- bare area on the diaphragmatic surface
What are the 4 lobes of the liver?
- right
- left
- caudate
- quadrate
What lobe are the quadrate and caudate lobes connected to?
From a functional/vascular distribution point of view the caudate & quadrate lobes are part of the left lobe
red = caudate
blue = quadrate
What are ligaments of the liver?
reflections of the peritoneum
What is the falciform ligament a remnant of?
ventral mesentery
What is the function of the falciform ligament?
anchors the liver to the anterior abdominal wall
Where does ligamentum teres lie?
in the free border of the falciform ligament (inferior border)
What happens the falciform ligament superiorly?
the two peritoneal layers are continuous with coronary (anterior and posterior) and triangular ligaments (left and right) on the undersurface of the diaphragm