liver Flashcards
(29 cards)
what does hepatic mean
pertaining to the liver
what doe ferrous mean
relating to iron
what are some functions of liver
-maintenance of glucose levels
-distribution of cholesterol and triglycerides
- manufactures plasma proteins like albumin
- removes waste products
- acid base balance
- inactivates neurotransmitters and hormones (deactivate them and prevent accumulation
-involved in iron balance and copper metabolism
- filters and inactivates bacteria and viruses from the gut
- makes bile (digestions and waste) and synthesises bile salts
where is the liver located
near the stomach under the ribcage. mostly on the right side.
how does the blood supply in the liver work
-the hepatic portal vein- connects the small intestine to the liver. transports about 75% of the blood from the gut to the liver. the blood is low in oxygen and have high nutrients (especially after the meal).
-hepatic vein- blood from the liver to the heart. low oxygen concentration because its been used by the liver. it has good nutrients because its filtered out the bacteria and viruses and moderating glucose.
-hepatic artery- from the heart to the liver. high in oxygen and consistent nutrients because the liver releases nutrients in the blood
- another vein from the heart to the liver high in oxygen and moderate amount of nutrients.
what does the internal anatomy of the liver look like.
liver tissue is divided into liver lobules.they are hexagonal in shape.
what is inside the liver lobule
there is the central vein - transports blood away from the liver which links up the the hepatic vein
portal triads- delivers blood into the liver tissues located on the corners of the lobules. it passes through it to the central vein where the purpose of the liver is done
what is the cells that conduct the function of the liver
hepatocytes- makes 80% of the liver. they are arranged on the edges of the channels.
why is the portal triad called this
it has 3 small vessels in it. it has the haptic artery- oxygenated blood to the liver, hepatic portal vein, blood from the gut. hepatic duct- the bile that the hepatocytes make and it flows out of the lobule towards the triad into the duct and out of the liver to the digestive system
where does the bile flow
bile moves opposite of blood. so blood moves on the edge to the central vein whiles bile )made by hepatocytes to go into the duct.
how does the liver maintain cholesterol
helps to deliver cholesterol around the body and minority moderate it. - not very well so too much is not good
why is having too much cholesterol detrimental
cholesterol doesn’t mix well with water. in the blood, it doesn’t float very well and deposits of cholesterol in the walls of the blood vessels- block the blood vessel and prevent oxygen uptake
why is small amount of cholesterol important
helps to maintain cell membranes flexibility and strength. also a building block for a number of hormones like progesterone and oestrogen.
what do they mean when they say there’s good and bad cholesterol
there’s two packing forms of cholesterol -because it does not mix well with water. its put in containers. One is high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein.
what’s the difference between high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein protein
low density is the packaging that transports cholesterol from storage in the liver towards the deposits in the blood vessels. - this provides local source of small amount of cholesterol in the vessels. this is known as bad cholesterol that can move those deposits bigger.
high density lipoprotein: move cholesterol from the vessels to the storage in the liver. the live still makes this deposit but empty and gets filled up for the deposits.
how does liver make or remove cholesterol
from tryglycerides. can also remove it with bile and move it to the gut but not very well.
what is albumin
it is a protein that maintains blood osmolarity. the osmolarity of the bloodstream is lower than the fluid surrounding the exterior of the blood vessels.it is created by liver
what does albumin do
because the osmolarity of the vessel is lower than outside, we naturally expect water to come out of the vessel to try and reach equilibrium. instead, we release albumin which is dissolved in the blood as well to increase its osmolarity and reach equilibrium, preventing water from coming out.
what is ironing why is it important
it helps carry oxygen in the red blood cells. its inside haemoglobin. it reacts very quickly with oxygen. red blood cells (which has the iron) is created in the bone marrow- we need a way to move it to the bone marrow
why is free iron toxic and how do we get around this
free iron can cause oxidative stress- cause damage to cells. it is instead carried in transferrin. it can carry two atoms of iron at a time.
how can we increase iron
through the food we eat or recycling of old red blood cells- red blood cells when dead are destroyed while the iron are recycled, or release from storage in the liver- stored in ferritin
how can we decrease iron
by making red blood cells, blood loss, cells lost from skin and lining of the gut. There is no good mechanism to expel excess iron.
how does iron get in and out of cells
the transferrin which contains the iron binds to the transferrin receptor and pulls the iron atoms inside the cell. it comes out through a transmembrane irons transporter called ferroportin
