Liver Structure and function Flashcards
What are the minor lobes of the liver?
Quadrate (ventral)
Caudate
Vessels enter the liver via what?
Porta
The common bile duct is formed by what?
Common hepatic duct + cystic duct
The porta of the liver is surrounded by what?
Ligamentous tissue
What is the function of the coronary ligament?
Posterior attachment of the liver to the diaphragm
It surrounds the bare area of the liver
The septa divide the liver into what?
Hexagonal lobules
What is the structure of liver lobules?
Hexagon with a portal triad at each corner, hepatic vein at the centre
What is the portal triad?
Hepatic portal vein
Hepatic artery
Hepatic duct
What are the hepatic cords?
Hepatocytes radiating out from the central veins of the lobules
What is the name given to the space between the hepatic cords?
Hepatic sinusoids (blood channels)
Bile produced in the liver is transported out how?
Produced in the hepatocytes
Pushed into the bile cannaliculi
Flows out via hepatic ducts
What is the role of hepatocytes/
Make Bile
Store nutrients
Convert nutrients
Detoxify the blood
What nutrients are stored by the hepatocytes?
Glycogen
Fat
Vits B12, A,D,E,K
Cu, Fe
What are the nutrient interconversions that take place in the hepatocytes?
Fat -> carb
Carb -> fat
Protein -> fat
What does the liver do to metals?
Attaches proteins (to make them safe)
What are the emulsifiers produced by the liver?
Bile acids
Lecithin
Cholesterol
What are the six components of bile?
Bile acids Lecithin Cholesterol Bile pigments Toxic metals Bicarbonate
Where is bicarbonate produced in the liver?
Duct cells
How much bile is made a day?
0.5g
What happens to bile before it is secreted by the liver?
Conjugated with glycine/taurine to form bile salts
Why is bile converted to bile salts?
Increased solubility
Where is bile reabsorbed?
Ileum
The gallbladder doesn’t contain which histological layer?
Submucosa
The mucosa of the gallbladder has what?
Rugae for expansion
