Week 3: accessory organs (PHYS) Flashcards
What does the hepatic portal vein do
its rich in nutrients from the intestine, it carries toxins for liver to filter (vein so it carries things UP from intestine)
what does the hepatic artery do
it carries oxygen rich blood from heart to liver
which macrophage cells live in the liver and clean the blood
Kupffer
how does the liver break down protein
the liver breaks protein down into Amino acids, which have nitrogen
its then turned into ammonia which is lowkey toxic so liver turns it into urea which gets transported to the kidneys and excreted into the urine
how is fat broken down in the liver
fatty things need bile to be absorbed, it then turns into fatty acids and glycerol
what is an important protein that the liver processes
albumin, this is the protein that maintains oncotic pressure and keeps equilibrium of water in interstitial fluid and plasma fluid
what would happen to drugs if there was low albumin in the blood
certain things like drugs, lipids and hormones are albumin bound so they need albumin to be transported around, if there was low albumin they would just float around and probably become toxic
how does the liver process oral medication
remember first pass metabolism
which hormones does the liver store and excrete
aldosterone, estrogen, testosterone
what is vitamin K, why is it important
its a very important clotting factor, its fat soluble so you need liver and bile to process and store it (bad liver= issues with clotting )
what even is bilirubin
macrophages in the spleen and liver break down old red blood cells, causing bilirubin as a byproduct
its also a key component of bile
what is the difference between conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin
conjugated (direct) is when bilirubin has been processed by the liver and is now water soluble
unconjugated is when bilirubin is fat soluble and has not been processed by the liver yet (also called indirect/free bilirubin)
what is sterocobilinogen
basically bilirubin that has been converted by bacteria and makes stool brown
what colour would stool be if there was an issue with the processing of billirubin
clay colour
what does bile do
basically gets rid of fat/fat soluble things and also gets rid of old red blood cells (important note for bilirubin and jaundice topics)
what is hyperbilirubinemia
jaundice
what’s pre hepatic jaundice
results from increase in bilirubin before reaching liver, it is an overproduction of unconjugated bilirubin so it actually has nothing to do with liver function, and more with increased load
what are the two main conditions that cause pre hepatic jaundice
babies with incompatible blood types to their mother (haemolytic jaundice of the newborn) and blood transfusion errors (wrong blood type
what is hepatic jaundice
liver dysfunction, results from livers inability to take up conjugate and excrete bilirubin
how does a diseased liver result in elevated conjugated and unconjugated jaundice
- hepatocytes struggle to conjugate bilirubin
- conjugated bilirubin will leak from cells and into circulation
what liver diseases will cause hepatic jaundice
hepatitis and cirrhosis
what will urine look like with hepatic jaundice
it will be dark in colour
what is the primary thing that causes posthepatic jaundice
failure of bile to reach the duodenum, usually from cholestasis (which is obstruction of bile flow to the liver)
what is an intrahepatic (inside the liver) cause of post hepatic jaundice
swelling or fibrosis of liver and bile ducts
what is an extra hepatic (outside the liver) cause of post hepatic jaundice
common bile duct stone, gall stone, pancreatic cancer
what is viral hepatitis
widespread inflammation and infection of the liver tissue, results in liver cell necrosis and inflammation which can obstruct the flow of bile
whats the difference between Hep A, B, and C (transmission)
A: fecal oral contamination (not v harmful)
B: blood, bodily fluids (unprotected sex), mother to child
C: Blood-Blood and sex (the worst one)
What are the three main clinical manifestations of viral hepatitis
- upper right quadrant pain (liver enlargement due to inflammation
- general symptoms like fatigue, arthralgia, malaise, anorexia, fever
- jaundice: inflamation and necrosis changes the structure of the liver and can obstruct the flow of bile causing blockage
which type(s) of hepatitis can cause chronic infection
B and C