The Liver

Question 1

What is travelling in the portal vein?

Answer 1

Water
Water soluble vitamins
Electrolytes including sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, iron
Carbohydrates- glucose, galactose and fructose
Proteins- amino acids, dipeptides, and tripeptides
Intestinal hormones particularly pancreatic hormones
Toxins including ammonia

Question 2

Where can bodily assaults come from?

Answer 2

Chemicals (we call them toxins if they have a biological origin)
Bacteria
Viruses (acute hepatitis can result from Hep A,B,C & D virus), cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr virus- causes glandular fever
Protozoa
Nematodes (roundworms)
Cestodes (tape worms)
Trematodes (flukes)

Question 3

What is not travelling in the portal vein?

Answer 3

Lipids

Fat soluble vitamins- A, D, E & K

Question 4

What are chylomicrons taken up by?

Answer 4

Lymphatics called lacteals. Lacteals contain chyle (lymph and chylomicrons)
Lacteals found in villi.

Question 5

What does the liver store?

Answer 5

Iron

Vitamin, A, B12, D, K, Glycogen

Question 6

What does the liver produce?

Answer 6

Plasma proteins (e.g. Albumin, numerous coagulation factors, protein components of circulating lipoproteins, and proteins that transport Fe and Cu)
Complement components of the immune system
Glycogen
Haematopoiesis in foetus (can be revived in adult if bone marrow failing)

Question 7

What does the liver breakdown?

Answer 7

Drugs (cytochrome P450)
Hormones
Haemoglobin
Poisons (cytochrome P450)
Can take over removal of aged red cells after splenectomy

*cytochrome p450 represents a family of haem-containing isoenzymes which are located in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum in several tissues.

Question 8

What does the liver mainly constitute of?

Answer 8

Hepatocytes

Question 9

Where would you find sinusoid cells?

Answer 9

Liver
Spleen
Bone marrow

Question 10

What are sinusoids?

Answer 10

They are irregular, tubular spaces for the passage of blood. They take the place of capillaries and venues in the liver, spleen and bone marrow.
Its endothelial cells have large gaps.

Question 11

What makes up the portal triad?

Answer 11

A bile duct
A hepatic arteriole
A portal venule

Question 12

True or false: Bile is travelling in the same direction as the blood flow in the portal triad.

Answer 12

False. Bile is travelling in the opposite direction.

Question 13

What shape are human liver lobules classically desribed as?

Answer 13

Hexagonal.
But are more accurately described as variably polygonal.
(A greater regularity, more closely approximating to a repeating hexagonal structure is present in pigs, raccoons and polar bears)

Question 14

As well as there being the portal triad what else is within the

Answer 14

Lymphatic vessels