The liver performs many vital functions
such as processing and storing nutrients,
producing substances that aid digestion,
breaking down and removing toxic
substances, and producing molecules that help form blood clots in the healing
process. Sugar is stored in the liver as
glycogen. When blood sugar levels become
low glycogen can be broken down and
released into the bloodstream as glucose.
The liver also produces bile; a thick
greenish yellow fluid that aids
digestion by making cholesterol and fat
easier to absorb from the intestine. Bile
is stored in the gallbladder and is
released into the intestine after meals.
If bile contains too much cholesterol it
may crystallize causing gallstones. The
liver breaks down harmful substances
into inactive by-products. Some of the
by-products are mixed into bile and
excreted into the intestines. Others are
excreted into the blood from which they
are filtered by the kidneys into the
urine. Various disorders can damage the
liver. Hepatitis is inflammation of the
liver that commonly results from a viral
infection such as hepatitis. The liver
can repair some damage by making new
cells, however, repeated damage may lead
to formation of non-functional scar
tissue called fibrosis or, if damage is
widespread, cirrhosis.
