Liver is the largest gland in the human body and one of the most complex of all human organs. It serves as the body's main chemical factory and is one of its major storehouses of food. The liver is a reddish-brown mass weighing about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). It is located in the upper right part of the abdomen, under the diaphragm and above the stomach and intestines.
The liver performs many essential functions. One of its most important tasks is to help the body digest food. The liver produces and discharges bile, a greenish-yellow digestive fluid. Bile travels from the liver to the small intestine, where it aids in the digestion of fats. Extra bile is stored in the gallbladder, a pear-shaped pouch that lies under the liver.
The liver also stores food. Digested food travels in the blood from the small intestine to the liver. The liver removes some of the digested food from the blood and stores it. When the body needs food, the liver releases it into the blood. The liver also changes some digested food into compounds needed by the body's cells.
In addition, the liver filters poisons and wastes from the blood. Some substances produced by the liver help the body fight disease. Others enable the blood to clot.
The liver has a remarkable ability to produce new cells to replace its own diseased or damaged cells. For example, surgeons can remove a section of a healthy liver from an adult and transplant it into a child who has a diseased liver. The adult's liver will rapidly regenerate and be restored to full size. The child's new liver will grow as the child grows.
