Your liver- From ALF

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[American Liver Foundation] YOUR LIVER,A VITAL

ORGAN<br>Your liver, the largest organ in your body, plays a

vital role in regulating life processes. This complex

organ performs many functions essential to life. You

simply cannot live without

it.<br><br>---------------------------------------------------------------------\

------<br>The location of the liver<br><br>The liver, located

behind the lower ribs on the right side of your abdomen

(see diagram), weighs about 3 pounds and is roughly

the size of a <br>football.<br><br>Functions of your

liver<br><br>This vital organ performs many complex functions. Some

of these are:<br><br> 1. To convert food into

chemicals necessary for life and growth;<br> 2. To

manufacture and export important substances used by the rest

of the body;<br> 3. To process drugs absorbed from

the digestive tract into forms that areeasier for the

body to use; and<br> 4. To detoxify and excrete

substances that otherwise would be poisonous.<br><br>Your

liver plays a key role in converting food into

essential chemicals of life. All of the blood that leaves

the stomach and intestines must pass through the

liver before reaching the rest of the body. The liver

is thus strategically placed to process nutrients

and drugs absorbed from the digestive tract into

forms that are easier for the rest of the body to

use.<br>In essence, the liver can be thought of as the

body's refinery.<br><br>Furthermore, your liver plays a

principal role in removing from the blood ingested and

internally produced toxic substances. The liver converts

<br>them to substances that can be easily eliminated from

the body. It also makes bile, a greenish-brown fluid

which is essential for digestion. Bile is stored in the

gallbladder which, after eating, contracts and discharges

bile into the intestine, where it aids

digestion.<br><br>Many drugs taken to treat diseases are also chemically

modified by the liver. These changes govern the drug's

activity in the body.<br><br>Your liver helps you

by:<br><br> * Producing quick energy when it is needed;<br> *

Manufacturing new body proteins;<br> * Preventing shortages in

body fuel by storing certain vitamins,<br> minerals,

and sugars;<br> * Regulating transport of fat

stores;<br> * Regulating blood clotting;<br> * Aiding in the

digestive process by producing bile;<br> * Controlling the

production and excretion of cholesterol;<br> * Neutralizing

and destroying poisonous substances;<br> *

Metabolizing alcohol;<br> * Monitoring and maintaining the

proper level of many chemicals and<br> drugs in the

blood;<br> * Cleansing the blood and discharging waste

products into the bile;<br> * Maintaining hormone

balance;<br> * Serving as the main organ of blood formation

before birth;<br> * Helping the body resist infection by

producing immune factors and <br>by<br> removing bacteria

from the bloodstream;<br> * Regenerating its own

damaged tissue; and<br> * Storing iron.