Fun Facts About Our Livers.
When I found out my was fatty pre-op, I did a bunch of research about what that lump of goo actually did for me. As it turns out, the liver is one of our bodies' hardest working organs.
The following excerpts were shamelessly stolen from wikipedia. If you want to read more go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver
The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body and is present in vertebrates and some other animals. The liver is necessary for survival; a human can only last up to 24 hours without liver function. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and detoxification. The liver is also the largest gland in the human body. It lies below the diaphragm in the thoracic region of the abdomen. It produces bile, an alkaline compound which aids in digestion, via the emulsification of lipids. It also performs and regulates a wide variety of high-volume biochemical reactions requiring very specialized tissues.
The liver is among the few internal human organs capable of natural regeneration of lost tissue; as little as 25% of remaining liver can regenerate into a whole liver again.
The liver performs over 500 jobs, and produces over 1,000 essential enzymes.
* The liver produces and excretes bile (a greenish liquid) required for emulsifying fats. Some of the bile drains directly into the duodenum, and some is stored in the gallbladder.
* The liver performs several roles in carbohydrate metabolism:
o Gluconeogenesis (the synthesis of glucose from certain amino acids, lactate or glycerol)
o Glycogenolysis (the breakdown of glycogen into glucose) (muscle tissues can also do this)
o Glycogenesis (the formation of glycogen from glucose)
o The breakdown of insulin and other hormones
* The liver is responsible for the mainstay of protein metabolism. For instance, the liver can convert lactic acid to alanine.
* The liver also performs several roles in lipid metabolism:
o Cholesterol synthesis
o Lipogenesis, the production of triglycerides (fats).
* The liver produces coagulation factors I (fibrinogen), II (prothrombin), V, VII, IX, X and XI, as well as protein C, protein S and antithrombin.
* The liver breaks down haemoglobin, creating metabolites that are added to bile as pigment (bilirubin and biliverdin).
* The liver breaks down toxic substances and most medicinal products in a process called drug metabolism. This sometimes results in toxication, when the metabolite is more toxic than its precursor.
* The liver converts ammonia to urea.
* The liver stores a multitude of substances, including glucose (in the form of glycogen), vitamin B12, iron, and copper.
* In the first trimester fetus, the liver is the main site of red blood cell production. By the 32nd week of gestation, the bone marrow has almost completely taken over that task.
* The liver is responsible for immunological effects- the reticuloendothelial system of the liver contains many immunologically active cells, acting as a 'sieve' for antigens carried to it via the portal system.
* The liver produces albumin, the major osmolar component of blood serum.
Currently, there is no artificial organ or device capable of emulating all the functions of the liver. Some functions can be emulated by liver dialysis, an experimental treatment for liver failure.
Liver allografts for transplant usually come from non-living donors who have died from fatal brain injury. Living donor liver transplantation is a technique in which a portion of a living person's liver is removed and used to replace the entire liver of the recipient. This was first performed in 1989 for pediatric liver transplantation. Only 20% of an adult's liver (Couinaud segments 2 and 3) is needed to serve as a liver allograft for an infant or small child.
Animal livers are rich in iron and Vitamin A, and cod liver oil is commonly used as a dietary supplement. Very high doses of Vitamin A can be toxic; in 1913, Antarctic explorers Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were both poisoned, the latter fatally, from eating husky liver. In the US, the USDA specifies 3000 μg per day as a tolerable upper limit, which amounts to about 50 g of raw pork liver, or 30-90 g of polar bear liver. However, acute vitamin A poisoning is not likely to result from liver consumption, since it is present in a less toxic form than in many dietary supplements.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus was punished by the gods for revealing fire to humans by being chained to a rock where a vulture (or an eagle) would peck out his liver, which would regenerate overnight. Curiously, the liver is the only human internal organ that actually can regenerate itself to a significant extent; this characteristic may have already been known to the Greeks due to survived injuries in battle.
The Talmud (tractate Berakhot 61b) refers to the liver as the seat of anger, with the gallbladder counteracting this.
The following excerpts were shamelessly stolen from wikipedia. If you want to read more go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver
The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body and is present in vertebrates and some other animals. The liver is necessary for survival; a human can only last up to 24 hours without liver function. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and detoxification. The liver is also the largest gland in the human body. It lies below the diaphragm in the thoracic region of the abdomen. It produces bile, an alkaline compound which aids in digestion, via the emulsification of lipids. It also performs and regulates a wide variety of high-volume biochemical reactions requiring very specialized tissues.
The liver is among the few internal human organs capable of natural regeneration of lost tissue; as little as 25% of remaining liver can regenerate into a whole liver again.
The liver performs over 500 jobs, and produces over 1,000 essential enzymes.
* The liver produces and excretes bile (a greenish liquid) required for emulsifying fats. Some of the bile drains directly into the duodenum, and some is stored in the gallbladder.
* The liver performs several roles in carbohydrate metabolism:
o Gluconeogenesis (the synthesis of glucose from certain amino acids, lactate or glycerol)
o Glycogenolysis (the breakdown of glycogen into glucose) (muscle tissues can also do this)
o Glycogenesis (the formation of glycogen from glucose)
o The breakdown of insulin and other hormones
* The liver is responsible for the mainstay of protein metabolism. For instance, the liver can convert lactic acid to alanine.
* The liver also performs several roles in lipid metabolism:
o Cholesterol synthesis
o Lipogenesis, the production of triglycerides (fats).
* The liver produces coagulation factors I (fibrinogen), II (prothrombin), V, VII, IX, X and XI, as well as protein C, protein S and antithrombin.
* The liver breaks down haemoglobin, creating metabolites that are added to bile as pigment (bilirubin and biliverdin).
* The liver breaks down toxic substances and most medicinal products in a process called drug metabolism. This sometimes results in toxication, when the metabolite is more toxic than its precursor.
* The liver converts ammonia to urea.
* The liver stores a multitude of substances, including glucose (in the form of glycogen), vitamin B12, iron, and copper.
* In the first trimester fetus, the liver is the main site of red blood cell production. By the 32nd week of gestation, the bone marrow has almost completely taken over that task.
* The liver is responsible for immunological effects- the reticuloendothelial system of the liver contains many immunologically active cells, acting as a 'sieve' for antigens carried to it via the portal system.
* The liver produces albumin, the major osmolar component of blood serum.
Currently, there is no artificial organ or device capable of emulating all the functions of the liver. Some functions can be emulated by liver dialysis, an experimental treatment for liver failure.
Liver allografts for transplant usually come from non-living donors who have died from fatal brain injury. Living donor liver transplantation is a technique in which a portion of a living person's liver is removed and used to replace the entire liver of the recipient. This was first performed in 1989 for pediatric liver transplantation. Only 20% of an adult's liver (Couinaud segments 2 and 3) is needed to serve as a liver allograft for an infant or small child.
Animal livers are rich in iron and Vitamin A, and cod liver oil is commonly used as a dietary supplement. Very high doses of Vitamin A can be toxic; in 1913, Antarctic explorers Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were both poisoned, the latter fatally, from eating husky liver. In the US, the USDA specifies 3000 μg per day as a tolerable upper limit, which amounts to about 50 g of raw pork liver, or 30-90 g of polar bear liver. However, acute vitamin A poisoning is not likely to result from liver consumption, since it is present in a less toxic form than in many dietary supplements.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus was punished by the gods for revealing fire to humans by being chained to a rock where a vulture (or an eagle) would peck out his liver, which would regenerate overnight. Curiously, the liver is the only human internal organ that actually can regenerate itself to a significant extent; this characteristic may have already been known to the Greeks due to survived injuries in battle.
The Talmud (tractate Berakhot 61b) refers to the liver as the seat of anger, with the gallbladder counteracting this.
 "The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly." -John F. Kennedy |
Cool Syn!
Actual "Fun Facts!"
(ok, my idea of 'Fun' is really tedious)
the transplant info was really interesting.
"the seat of Anger?".....
I'd no idea!
Here I thought that was the spleen....sine I had my spleen removed
I have joked to some, that without my spleen,
I'm just naturally un-able to get angry now....
Probably the gravity cut in half instead...
Before I opened the thread,
I thought it was going to be a lot of info about -
Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis.
That hits a lot of us!
Is that the "fatty liver" they diagnosed you with Pre-Op?
Here's my "go to info for that-
NASH-Link
Thanks for the Fun Facts....
Best Wishes-
Dx
Capricious; Impulsive, Semi-Predictable 
(O.K., so that was only 3 .. anybody got 37 more?) 
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