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JULY 26, 2019
AIKEN-AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006
BODY PARTS: THE OCCASIONAL SERIES
THE LIVER
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AUGUSTARX.COM
s there a body part that isn’t amazing? None come to mind. They are all astonishingly complex and sophisticated in their design and function, marvels of compact efficiency. The liver certainly deserves its place in the HBHOF (Human Body Hall of Fame). This 3-pound organ doesn’t get the publicity that some of its co-workers like the brain and heart do, but it doesn’t seem to mind. It just quietly does its job, which is a good thing. If it went on strike we would quickly die. (Is that why it’s called the liver?) Unlike the pancreas or the heart that are available in artificial, mechanical versions, the liver is irreplaceable. Unless, that is, it replaces itself: surgeons can cut away diseased portions of the liver, even as much as 75 percent of it, and it can grow back to its pre-surgery size within weeks. Otherwise, a problem liver has to be replaced with a healthy one. But a complete transplant isn’t the only option. Just a piece of a living donor’s liver can do the trick. You can see its location highlighted in the graphic, high in the abdomen on the right side, well protected behind the ribs. It is the body’s largest organ other than our skin, and fittingly so: it has a big job. The liver filters harmful things from the bloodstream, helps digest the foods we eat and make nutrients available to the body, and is conservatively estimated to regularly accomplish some 500 different tasks. Its resume includes destroying bacteria by sending out phagocytes, which are cells that eat invaders. The liver also keeps blood healthy by destroying old or damaged blood cells, and it creates clotting factors that prevent or stop bleeding. Many body systems are involved in homeostasis, a fancy word for maintaining the body’s status quo. When it’s hot, for instance, perspiration cools us down; when it’s freezing, the body has systems that generate warmth. The liver is part of the operation too. It stores about a day’s worth of blood glucose in the form of glycogen. If a person doesn’t eat for a while and their bood sugar drops (while asleep overnight, for example), the liver chemically changes its stored glycogen back to glucose and releases it back into the bloodstream. The liver also stores most of the iron we consume through food and handles the job of dispensing it. It does the same with iron, folate, and vitamins A, D, and B12. Speaking of food, much of what we eat containing cannot be digested without the liver’s help. It produces about a quart of bile every day, then sends it through bile ducts to the small intestine where it helps break food down so its nutrients can be utilized by the body. This article barely scratches the surface of what this incomparable organ does. Protect the liver by avoiding threats to it like obesity and heavy alcohol consumption. Since the liver is our filter #1, not following dosing instructions for dietary supplements, and prescription and OTC medications puts an unnecessary workload on it, increasing the risk of drug-related liver cancer. Yes, taking care of our liver heightens our chances of being a liver.