Section 1

Question 1

What does the liver do?

Answer 1

• produces bile for the digestion of fats
• stores dietary glucose in the form of glycogen, so that it can later be broken down and used for the production of energy
• plays a role in the metabolism of toxins, drugs, and alcohol in the blood

Question 2

What is the gallbladder?

Answer 2

• small organ underneath the liver
• for storage and release of bile

Question 3

What is the pancreas?

Answer 3

• a mixed gland (both endocrine and exocrine functions)
• endocrine: controls levels of blood glucose
• exocrine: secretes digestive enzymes into the intestine

Question 4

Is the pancreas an endocrine or exocrine gland?

Answer 4

Both

Question 5

What are the lobes of the liver?

Answer 5

Right, left, caudate, quadrate

Question 6

What are the ligaments of the liver?

Answer 6

They attach the liver to the surrounding abdominal peritoneum and the diaphragm

Question 7

What is peritoneum?

Answer 7

A thin membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and covers most of the abdominal organs

Question 8

What are the right and left lobes of the liver separated by?

Answer 8

The falciform ligament

Question 9

What suspends the liver from the inferior surface of the diaphragm?

Answer 9

The coronary ligament

Question 10

What is the porta hepatis?

Answer 10

• the hilum of the liver
• aka hepatic portal
• this is where the hepatic ducts enter and leave the liver
• located on inferior side of the liver, surrounded by the four lobes

Question 11

What are the three structures that enter and leave the porta hepatis?

Answer 11

Common hepatic duct, portal vein, and hepatic artery

Question 12

What is the common hepatic duct (what does it do/join)?

Answer 12

• drains bile produced in the liver
• joins with the cystic duct of the gallbladder to form the common bile duct

Question 13

What is the portal vein/what does it do?

Answer 13

• carries nutrient rich blood from the digestive system into the liver, where those nutrients absorbed from the digested food can be stored
• carries any ingested toxins or drugs into the liver to be metabolized

Question 14

What does the hepatic artery do?

Answer 14

Carries oxygenated blood to the liver and branches to supply each lobe

Question 15

What is a liver lobule?

Answer 15

• the functional unit of the liver
• hexagonal-shaped
• each one is made up of simple cuboidal liver cells called hepatocytes arranged in plates that radiate outward from a central vein
• between the plates of cells are spaces called sinusoids where venous blood flows

Question 16

What are portal (hepatic) triads?

Answer 16

• branches of the hepatic artery, portal vein, and common hepatic duct from the porta hepatis
• there are many triads in the liver as each lobule is surrounded by six triads, one at the each corner of the hexagon

Question 17

Describe the flow of venous blood in the liver lobule.

Answer 17

Nutrient rich blood from the portal veins travels into the sinusoids. In the sinusoids, the nutrients from the blood are taken up into the hepatocytes.

Then, the blood in the sinusoids drains into the central veins, which join to form the hepatic veins. Finally, blood from each hepatic vein drains into the inferior vena cava and eventually to the heart.

Question 18

With regards to digestion, what are the general functions of the liver?

Answer 18

• produce bile (used in emulsification (breakdown) of fats and cholesterol)
• receive nutrient rich blood and stores the nutrients within its cells as glucose for later use

Question 19

What is liver cirrhosis?

Answer 19

A slow, progressive disease in which healthy liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue. The presence of scar tissue prevents the liver from functioning normally

Question 20

Cirrhotic tissue becomes fibrotic and interspersed with fatty tissue. This causes hepatocytes to lose their chord-like arrangement. What would you speculate the symptoms of cirrhosis in the liver be?

Answer 20

• block the flow of blood and bile through the portal triads of the liver resulting in jaundice (yellow colouration) of the skin due to buildup of bile
• a distended abdomen due to a buildup of fluid from the venous system

Question 21

What is the gallbladder?

Answer 21

• a pear-shaped muscular sac
• lies inferior to the right lobe of the liver
• stores and concentrates bile that is not immediately needed for digestion

Question 22

What are the three regions of the gallbladder?

Answer 22

1. fundus - anterior
2. body - between fundus and neck
3. neck - posterior, connected to cystic duct

Question 23

What are the interconnected ducts that connect the liver and the gallbladder? And what does this duct system do?

Answer 23

1. hepatic ducts
2. cystic duct
3. common bile duct
   This duct system stores and drains bile into the duodenum

Question 24

What do hepatic ducts do?

Answer 24

The right and left hepatic duct from the right and left lobes of the liver drain bile into the COMMON HEPATIC DUCT

Question 25

What does the cystic duct do?

Answer 25

- attaches to the common hepatic duct - functions to transport bile to and from the gallbladder

Question 26

What does the common bile duct do?

Answer 26

the common hepatic duct and cystic duct meet to drain bile into the common bile duct, which enters the duodenum

Question 27

What is the pancreas?

Answer 27

- a lobular organ - lies deep to the stomach - mixed gland (both endocrine and exocrine functions) - exocrine portion secretes enzymes that aid in digestion of food

Question 28

What are the three divisions of the pancreas?

Answer 28

Head, body and tail

Question 29

What is the position of the head of the pancreas?

Answer 29

Sits in the concavity of the duodenum on the right side of the abdominal cavity

Question 30

What is the position of the body of the pancreas?

Answer 30

Extends towards the left, passing behind the stomach and tapering to become the tail

Question 31

Position of tail of the pancreas?

Answer 31

Abuts the medial side of the spleen

Question 32

What is the main pancreatic duct?

Answer 32

- collects the exocrine products of the pancreas - fuses with the common bile duct to empty into the duodenum at the hepatopancreatic ampulla of Vater

Question 33

Describe the histology of the pancreas.

Answer 33

- a mixed gland - 99% exocrine, 1% endocrine - islets of Langerhans scattered within the exocrine portion

Question 34

Describe the exocrine function of the pancreas?

Answer 34

- involves the secretion of pancreatic juices from the pancreatic acini into the duodenum - pancreatic juices are rich in digestive enzymes and contain bicarbonate ions to neutralize acid from the stomach