Week 3 Pre-Learning: Liver Introduction Flashcards
What is the purpose of the hepatic portal vein? (2)
- Brings blood from the stomach, intestines, spleen, and pancreas directly to the liver
- this blood contains products of digestion
Hepatic Portail Vein circulation diagram
What does the liver:
Destroy?
Metabolize?
Maintain?
- Destroys bacteria in the portal blood
- Metabolizes drugs, hormones, and toxins
- Maintains blood glucose
What does the liver produce? (4)
- fatty acids, triglycerides, cholesterol, and lipoproteins (HDL and LDL)
- Urea
- clotting proteins, albumin, angiotensinogen, IGF
- Produce bile salts
-
What does the liver excrete?
bile salts
How does the liver destroy bacteria in the portal blood?
- Blood from the GI tract (containing bacteria, endotoxins and microbes) flows to the liver where kupffer cells work to clean the blood
What are kupffer cells made up of?
- macrophages
Which nutrients does the liver metabolize? (3)
- fats
- carbohydrates
- protein
What is the purpose of bile?
- the liver produces bile which emulsifies fat, allowing for better absorption
Which 3 processes of the liver regulate blood sugar?
- glycogenesis
- glycogenolysis
- glyconeogenesis
The liver breaks down ____ to be used for energy
proteins
How does the liver safely manage ammonia levels that are a toxic by-product of protein metabolism?
- Converts ammonia to urea to be excreted by the kidneys
The liver produces albumin. What is the role of albumin? (3)
- Major plasma protein
- Maintains oncotic pressure in the vascular system
- Transports substances in the blood stream by binding to them (drugs, lipids, toxins, hormones)
Review: what is oncotic pressure?
keeps fluid in the intravascular space and keeps it from moving to interstitial space
How does the liver aid in metabolic detoxification? (4)
- Alters medications, hormones, and other chemicals to make them less toxic
- First pass effect
- diminishes reabsorption and facilitates excretion
- prevents accumulation of side effects
