LIVER
the most large gland in the body of vertebrates. In humans, it makes up about 2.5% of body weight, on average 1.5 kg in adult men and 1.2 kg in women. The liver is located in the upper right part of the abdominal cavity; it is attached by ligaments to the diaphragm, abdominal wall, stomach and intestines and is covered with a thin fibrous membrane - Glisson's capsule. The liver is a soft but dense organ of red-brown color and usually consists of four lobes: large right lobe, smaller left and much smaller caudate and quadrate lobes, forming the posterior lower surface of the liver.

LIVER is the largest gland in the human body, performing many functions. Ligaments fix its position in the upper right part of the abdominal cavity. The structure of the liver includes several lobes, each of which consists of functional units - lobules. Liver cells secrete bile needed for digestion into intralobular bile canaliculi. Bile is transported to the intestines through the common bile duct or gallbladder, where it is stored for future use. Nutrition of the liver tissue is provided by blood flowing through the hepatic artery. The portal vein brings blood containing absorbed digestive products, which are further processed in the liver. All incoming blood enters the lobular capillaries - sinusoids. Flowing through them, it washes the liver cells and exits through the central, then interlobular, and then hepatic veins into the inferior vena cava.

Functions. The liver is an essential organ for life with many different functions. One of the main ones is the formation and secretion of bile, clear liquid orange or yellow. Bile contains acids, salts, phospholipids (fats containing a phosphate group), cholesterol and pigments. Bile salts and free bile acids emulsify fats (i.e. break them into small droplets), thereby facilitating their digestion; convert fatty acids into water-soluble forms (which is necessary for absorption as fatty acids, so fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K); have antibacterial effect. All nutrients, absorbed into the blood from digestive tract, - products of digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, minerals and vitamins - pass through the liver and are processed in it. At the same time, some amino acids (protein fragments) and some fats are converted into carbohydrates, so the liver is the largest “depot” of glycogen in the body. It synthesizes blood plasma proteins - globulins and albumin, and also undergoes amino acid conversion reactions (deamination and transamination). Deamination - the removal of nitrogen-containing amino groups from amino acids - allows the latter to be used, for example, for the synthesis of carbohydrates and fats. Transamination is the transfer of an amino group from an amino acid to a keto acid to form another amino acid (see METABOLISM). The liver also synthesizes ketone bodies (products of fatty acid metabolism) and cholesterol. The liver is involved in regulating glucose (sugar) levels in the blood. If this level increases, liver cells convert glucose into glycogen (a substance similar to starch) and store it. If the blood glucose level drops below normal, glycogen is broken down and glucose enters the bloodstream. In addition, the liver is capable of synthesizing glucose from other substances, such as amino acids; this process is called gluconeogenesis. Another function of the liver is detoxification. Medicines and other potentially toxic compounds can be converted into a water-soluble form in liver cells, which allows them to be excreted in bile; they can also be destroyed or conjugate (combine) with other substances to form harmless products that are easily excreted from the body. Some substances are temporarily deposited in Kupffer cells (special cells that absorb foreign particles) or in other liver cells. Kupffer cells are particularly effective at removing and destroying bacteria and other foreign particles. Thanks to them, the liver plays important role V immune defense body. Possessing a dense network of blood vessels, the liver also serves as a blood reservoir (it constantly contains about 0.5 liters of blood) and is involved in the regulation of blood volume and blood flow in the body. In general, the liver performs more than 500 different functions, and its activity cannot yet be reproduced artificially. Removal of this organ inevitably leads to death within 1-5 days. However, the liver has a huge internal reserve; it has amazing ability recover from damage, so humans and other mammals can survive even after 70% of the liver tissue is removed.
Structure. The complex structure of the liver is perfectly adapted to perform its unique functions. The lobes consist of small structural units - lobules. In the human liver there are about one hundred thousand of them, each 1.5-2 mm long and 1-1.2 mm wide. The lobule consists of liver cells - hepatocytes, located around the central vein. Hepatocytes are united into layers one cell thick - the so-called. liver plates. They diverge radially from the central vein, branch and connect with each other, forming complex system walls; the narrow gaps between them, filled with blood, are known as sinusoids. Sinusoids are equivalent to capillaries; passing one into another, they form a continuous labyrinth. The hepatic lobules are supplied with blood from the branches of the portal vein and hepatic artery, and the bile formed in the lobules enters the tubular system, from which into bile ducts and is excreted from the liver.

The hepatic portal vein and hepatic artery provide the liver with an unusual, dual blood supply. Nutrient-rich blood from the capillaries of the stomach, intestines and several other organs is collected in the portal vein, which, instead of carrying blood to the heart like most other veins, carries it to the liver. In the liver lobules, the portal vein breaks up into a network of capillaries (sinusoids). The term "portal vein" refers to unusual direction transport of blood from the capillaries of one organ to the capillaries of another (the kidneys and pituitary gland have a similar circulatory system). The second source of blood supply to the liver, the hepatic artery, carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the outer surfaces of the lobules. The portal vein provides 75-80%, and the hepatic artery 20-25% of the total blood supply to the liver. In general, about 1500 ml of blood passes through the liver per minute, i.e. quarter cardiac output. Blood from both sources ultimately enters the sinusoids, where it mixes and flows to the central vein. From the central vein, the outflow of blood to the heart begins through the lobar veins into the hepatic vein (not to be confused with the portal vein of the liver). Bile is secreted by liver cells into the smallest tubules between the cells - bile capillaries. By internal system tubules and ducts it collects into the bile duct. Part of the bile goes directly into the common bile duct and is poured into small intestine, but most of cystic duct is returned for storage to the gallbladder, a small pouch with muscular walls attached to the liver. When food enters the intestines, the gallbladder contracts and releases the contents into the common bile duct, which opens into the duodenum. The human liver produces about 600 ml of bile per day.
Portal triad and acini. The branches of the portal vein, hepatic artery and bile duct are located nearby, at the outer border of the lobule and form the portal triad. At the periphery of each lobule there are several such portal triads. The functional unit of the liver is the acinus. This is the part of tissue that surrounds the portal triad and includes lymphatic vessels, nerve fibers and adjacent sectors of two or more lobules. One acini contains about 20 liver cells located between the portal triad and the central vein of each lobule. In a two-dimensional image, a simple acinus looks like a group of vessels surrounded by adjacent sections of lobules, and in a three-dimensional image it looks like a berry (acinus - lat. berry) hanging on a stalk of blood and bile vessels. Acinus, the microvascular framework of which consists of the above circulatory and lymphatic vessels, sinusoids and nerves, is the microcirculatory unit of the liver. Liver cells (hepatocytes) have the shape of polyhedra, but they have three main functional surfaces: sinusoidal, facing the sinusoidal channel; tubular - involved in the formation of the wall of the bile capillary (it does not have its own wall); and intercellular - directly adjacent to neighboring liver cells.
Liver dysfunction. Since the liver has many functions, its functional disorders are extremely diverse. Liver disease increases the load on the organ and can damage its structure. The process of liver tissue restoration, including the regeneration of liver cells (formation of regeneration nodes), has been well studied. It has been discovered, in particular, that with liver cirrhosis, perverted regeneration of liver tissue occurs with an incorrect arrangement of vessels formed around cell nodes; As a result, blood flow in the organ is disrupted, which leads to the progression of the disease. Jaundice, manifested by yellowness of the skin, sclera (the white of the eyes; here the color change is usually most noticeable) and other tissues, - common symptom in liver disease, reflecting the accumulation of bilirubin (the reddish-yellow pigment of bile) in body tissues.
See also
HEPATITIS;
JAUNDICE;
GALL BLADDER ;
CIRRHOSIS.
Animal liver. If the human liver has 2 main lobes, then in other mammals these lobes can be divided into smaller ones, and there are species in which the liver consists of 6 and even 7 lobes. In snakes, the liver is represented by one elongated lobe. The liver of fish is relatively large; in those fish that use liver oil to increase buoyancy, it is of great economic value due to its significant content of fats and vitamins. Many mammals, such as whales and horses, and many birds, such as pigeons, lack a gallbladder; however, it is present in all reptiles, amphibians and most fish, with the exception of a few species of sharks.
LITERATURE
Green N., Stout W., Taylor D. Biology, vol. 2. M., 1996 Human Physiology, ed. Schmidt R., Tevsa G., vol. 3. M., 1996

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

Synonyms:

See what "LIVER" is in other dictionaries:

Liver- (hepar) (Fig. 151, 158, 159, 165, 166) is the most large gland human body, its weight reaches 1.5 2 kg, and its size is 25 30 cm. It is located in upper section abdominal cavity under the dome of the diaphragm, occupying mainly... ... Atlas of Human Anatomy

LIVER- LIVER. Contents: I. Liver ashtomia............... 526 II. Liver histology......................... 542 III. Normal physiology liver...... 548 IV. Pathological physiology of the liver..... 554 V. Pathological anatomy liver...... 565 VI.… … Big medical encyclopedia

- (hepar), digestive gland of some invertebrates and all vertebrates. Among invertebrates, it is found in horseshoe crabs, arachnids, crustaceans, mollusks, and a number of echinoderms ( starfish and lilies). Represents a hollow outgrowth of the average... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

liver- is the most voluminous of the glands of the appendages of the digestive tract: indeed, its weight is 1500 grams. It is located on the highest tier of the right side of the abdominal cavity and extends into the epigastric region. Through the underside of the liver... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary I. Mostitsky

Liver- person. LIVER, a large gland in the abdominal cavity. Participates in the metabolism of proteins (synthesizes many blood proteins), lipids, carbohydrates (regulates blood sugar levels), in water and salt metabolism, in the synthesis of vitamins A and B12, in detoxification... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

PECHENKIN LIVER PECHENITSYN PECHENIN PECHENIKOV PECHINKIN LIVER PECHENKIN LIVER PECHENITSYN PECHENIKOV PECHINKIN From the name of the organ human body liver (E) More correctly from the nickname Liver, possibly a person similar to the liver of an animal ... Russian surnames

Large gland in animals and humans; participates in the processes of digestion, metabolism, blood circulation; ensures the constancy of the internal environment of the body. In vertebrates and humans, liver cells synthesize bile. Happens in the liver... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

How can we help the liver easily bear the burden of our carelessness?

This is what the famous herbalist, Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor, head of the herbal medicine course at the Department of Family Medicine of the MMA said about this. Sechenova Sergey Nikolaevich Turishchev:
- There are many fruits and medicinal plants, which contain active herbal ingredients, helping a person protect the liver from diseases. Such properties are possessed, for example, by rose hips, mint, oregano, St. John's wort, chamomile, immortelle, corn silk, celandine, calendula, birch buds, milk thistle, oats, many vitamin preparations...
Celandine. IN folk medicine A decoction of celandine herb with flowers and roots in small doses is used for cholelithiasis, jaundice and other liver diseases.
It is known to increase bile secretion.
Calendula promotes the secretion of bile. In folk medicine, it is often used as a choleretic agent for liver diseases.
- In pharmacies today there are many “targeted” herbal infusions, which promote the secretion of bile, cleanse the bile ducts, and remove small stones. Medicinal plants are good because they are close in structure to the components of the human body. They act gently and are absolutely harmless, since man himself, albeit a unique one, is a biosystem. Official medicine today no longer denies the therapeutic effect of natural biologically active compounds. Moreover, it emphasizes not only their advantages, but often their advantages. Active substances Plants are not only able to cleanse the liver of toxins, which means protecting its cells from destruction, but also help restore already damaged liver cells.
Based on practical experience, I can say: natural remedies are also good for treatment chronic diseases liver. As you know, the percentage of viral liver pathologies (hepatitis, cirrhosis, jaundice) is now growing. And in case of high load on this organ, herbs will act as hepatoprotectors (literally, liver protectors).
Without much difficulty, you can help your liver through gentle nutrition.
In this sense, according to experts, boiled meat and fish, dairy products, oatmeal. And even more so - decoctions of natural oats. The same thing they feed horses. Cranberries and lemon drinks are good for removing toxins and saving the liver from medicinal “violence.” After all, all nutrients absorbed into the blood from the digestive tract pass through the liver and are processed there. At the same time, some of the fats are converted into carbohydrates, so the liver, figuratively speaking, is the largest glycogen depot in the body. It also synthesizes blood plasma proteins.
The diet will help normalize impaired liver and biliary tract function
Recommended products and dishes.
Egg - white omelet (without yolk) no more than 2 times a week.
Bread and bakery products- gray, rough bread. The cookies are not good.
Milk and dairy products: low-fat cottage cheese, one-day yogurt, low-fat kefir.
Fats: butter, sunflower oil ready meals.
Meat and fish dishes: low-fat varieties meat, boiled chicken. Lean fish(cod, navaga, pike) - boiled.
Soups - with vegetable broth or milk (with water). Cereals - buckwheat, oatmeal, pasta. Fruit soups.
Fruits, berries, sweets - ripe varieties of fruits and berries, raw and boiled, lemon with sugar, watermelons, soy chocolate, sugar.
Drinks, juices - rosehip decoction, various juices (with water), tea with milk, tea with lemon, dried fruit compotes.
Vegetables and greens - cabbage, potatoes, carrots, beets raw and boiled, onions are added after boiling.
Undesirable: mushrooms, beans, peas, peppers, sorrel, spinach, fried foods, egg yolks, canned food, alcohol, beer, sparkling water.
The protein content in this diet is 100-200 g, fat - 120-130 g, carbohydrates - 350-400 g. Calorie content - 3500 kcal, free liquid up to 1.5 l, table salt- up to 12 years
This diet is good because it is balanced: it contains normal amount proteins and limits fats (especially lamb, goose, internal fat). The range of products that promote fermentation has been reduced. The amount of vegetables and fruits has been increased.
It is better to eat 4-5 times a day.
Don't climb the wall
Paradoxically, even a person’s behavior and character depend on the condition of the liver. Unconscious anxiety, irritability, and sleep disturbances can also be signs of liver system overload. Lose your temper - typical manifestation irritated liver. Even the ancients noticed this: harmful and vindictive choleric people were called gall people; closed, sad and painful melancholic people - people with black bile. And in our time, many apt expressions circulate among the people, tracing the connection between the liver, health and character of a person: a bilious person, sits in the liver.
So if you help your protector - the liver, it will help you enjoy life more often.

BY THE WAY
In folk medicine, celandine is used as a remedy that retards the growth of certain malignant tumors. But we must remember that celandine is a poisonous plant, so it must be used internally with extreme caution. If poisoned, it can cause nausea, vomiting and even death.

Rosehip is an ancient medicinal plant, medicinal properties which were known already in the 17th century. At that time, rose hips were highly valued and were given out for treatment with special permission only to noble and wealthy people. Its fruits contain so many vitamins that their variety exceeds all other plants known to medicine. That is why rosehip infusion is also good for the prevention of liver diseases. It increases the body's resistance to infectious diseases, in particular, with hepatitis. Promotes better secretion of bile. As is known, many are made from rose hips medicinal preparations for the treatment of hepatitis, cholecystitis.

The liver is the largest gland

The human body is amazing. There are so many different things going on in it. complex processes, which in their totality allow the individual to exist - to have what they are used to calling “full life”.

The main task of providing this falls on large organs in the body, including glands. They produce hormones that are responsible for many processes, without which the most significant events - physiologically and psychologically - for any individual (for example, digestion or childbirth) will simply become impossible.

At the same time, one’s own body remains largely a mystery to non-medics. So, not everyone will be able to say with accuracy what the largest human gland is. Meanwhile, without the compounds it produces, the absorption of many elements from food would not occur, the blood would not be purified, the elimination of toxic substances would not occur to the proper extent, etc.

Hot organ

The above statements refer to the liver. It is considered not only the largest of the glands present in humans, but also the “hottest” organ. Constant temperature it is about forty-two degrees. This is not surprising, for she is reputed to be a real " industrial enterprise" of the body. The production of lipids, bile, bilirubin, replenishment of a number of vitamins and other nutrients, as well as hormones and enzymes, with the participation of which food is broken down into duodenum into component parts.

In general, the list of those chemical compounds in the production of which the above-mentioned largest human gland is somehow involved would be very extensive. However, this organ of considerable size (in an adult it weighs about one and a half to two kilograms) is also involved in many other processes that constantly occur in the body of every inhabitant of the planet.

Liver in critical situation

Thus, the liver neutralizes substances that are foreign and unsafe for humans (including poisons, allergens, etc.). Here they are transformed into more harmless compounds, which are then removed natural ways. Also, with the help of this organ, excess of various hormones, vitamins, mediators and intermediates is removed. harmful products metabolism (for example, ethanol, ammonia, acetone and others).

However, many people have an idea about these liver functions. However, not everyone realizes that it also serves as a kind of “blood reservoir”. A fairly large volume of this life-giving fluid is stored here. It is thrown into the vascular bed in case of injuries and other situations in which significant blood loss occurs.

Caring for your liver

With all those countless tasks (and not all of them are listed just above) that the liver has to cope with, it is, of course, very vulnerable to additional obstacles in their implementation, erected by the person himself. Is it worth mentioning in this regard the repeated “libations” that many of the planet’s inhabitants are addicted to, as well as other unsafe habits (for example, smoking), which supply the body with such decent volumes of toxins that the body’s main filter is not always able to cope.

In addition, many people are very indiscriminate in terms of diet, and in this regard, the liver encounters an excessive amount of fats and other difficult-to-digest compounds. This has a strong impact on negative side on liver functionality. However, she has the ability to regenerate, but sometimes even this is of little help.

Those who strive to join the ranks of centenarians who live out their lives in perfect health should also take care of the liver. The recipe for this is simple - watch your diet and not overload the largest gland with harmful compounds.

The golden mean is what is important when we're talking about about iron content in the body healthy person. Normally, this microelement is allocated only 4-5 grams, but its role is colossal.

Surely you know that iron is simply necessary for humans and cannot be replaced by anything. It is involved in the process of hematopoiesis and oxygen transport to all cells of the body as part of hemoglobin. In addition, iron is involved in the synthesis of cellular enzymes, generates a magnetic field and electromagnetic pulses in nerve cells, promotes tissue formation. Normal level This metal gives the body strength to resist stress, fatigue, drowsiness, supports immunity, brain function and thyroid gland. And what is important, and for you and me, it is even very important to maintain skin and muscle tone.

If the hemoglobin level is normal, then there is no painful craving for sweets

The role of iron in the body

Daily iron requirement

The daily requirement of iron is individual for everyone and depends on the person’s health and lifestyle. For intense physical activity the need increases. The table below shows the averages for different categories people.

Average daily iron requirement (at a maximum of 45 mg)
Age 0-6 months	27
Age 7-12 months	11
Age 1-3 years	7-12
Age 4-8 years	10-18
Age 9-13 years	8-14
Boys 14-18 years old	11-19
Girls 14-18 years old	15-27
Breastfeeding women 14-18 years old	10-18
Men 19+	8-14
Women 19-50 years old	18-32
Breastfeeding women 19-50 years old	9-16
Women 50+	8-14
Pregnancy	27-48

Ideally any healthy body must have an iron supply (300–1000 mg for women and 500–1500 mg for men). In reality, most people have a reserve of this microelement at the lower limit of normal, or completely absent.

P foods containing large amounts of iron table

The table shows only those products in which the most large number gland. The share of iron is given in grams per 100 grams of product.

PLANT ORIGIN		ANIMAL ORIGIN
Dried porcini mushrooms	35,0	Pork liver	19,0
Syrup	19,5	Lungs	10,0
Brewer's yeast	18,1	Beef liver	9,0
Sea kale	16,0	Chicken liver	8,5
pumpkin seeds	14,0	Egg yolk	7,2
Cocoa	12,5	Chicken heart	6,2
Lentils	11,8	Language	5,0
Sesame	11,5	Rabbit meat	4,4
Buckwheat	8,3	Hematogen	4,0
Peas	7,0	Quail eggs	3,2
Blueberry	7,0	Beef	3,1
Halva	6,4	Black caviar	2,5
Beans	5,9	Chicken	2,1
Beans	5,5	Pork	2,0
Fresh mushrooms	5,2	Mutton	2,0
Black currant	5,2
Dried apricots	4,7
Almond	4,4
Peaches	4,1
Rye bread	3,9
Raisin	3,8
Spinach	3,5
Walnut	2,9
Corn	2,4
Chocolate	2,3
Apples	2,2

If we are talking about a lack of something, then it is already clear that this does not bode well. There are two stages of iron deficiency: latent stage And anemia stage.

For latent iron deficiency the level of hemoglobin in the blood is normal and clinical symptoms There is no iron deficiency, but tissue iron reserves are inexorably falling, and the activity of iron-containing enzymes is gradually decreasing. In addition, adults are characterized by a compensatory increase in iron absorption in the intestine.

At iron deficiency anemia the following clinical symptoms are observed:

1. depletion of iron reserves in the body;
2. the decrease in the saturation of red blood cells with hemoglobin is significantly reduced, which leads to their hypochromia, in other words, red blood cells lose color;
3. dystrophic changes occur in organs and tissues;
4. an increased amount of protoporphyrin is observed in erythrocytes;
5. decrease in the level of hemoglobin in the blood and its production.

Symptoms of anemia

When should you pay attention to your condition and what hints from your body should you use to think about a possible iron deficiency? If you are worried about systematic fatigue for no apparent reason and at the same rhythm of life as always... There is a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath with light exertion. Muscle weakness, tinnitus, headaches. Visually, others may notice the pallor of the face. Hair loss, brittle nails, and dry skin also often increase. More are possible severe symptoms such as cracks in the mucous membranes in the corners of the mouth, redness of the tongue. It all depends on the severity and duration of the deficiency. It should be noted that you should not self-medicate and take medications on your own without examination. This is because an excess of iron, like its deficiency, can quite realistically cause serious harm, namely, disrupt the functioning of internal organs. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis based on tests and prescribe the right dosage specifically in your case.

The human body is able to absorb approximately a tenth of the incoming iron. There are some factors that can be influenced that reduce the absorption of iron in the intestinal lumen that should be taken into account. This is precipitation by phosphates, phytates and antacids. Soy proteins, albumin, and ethanol (taken orally or given by injection) reduce iron absorption. As for milk, its proteins also have a detrimental effect on Fe absorption. Tea and coffee significantly reduce iron absorption due to their caffeine content. Phytic acid contained in the seeds of cereals, legumes and oilseeds reduces the absorption of iron. In order to neutralize the effect of phytate on iron absorption, ascorbic acid or meat should be included in the diet. Plant fibers other than cellulose can also reduce iron absorption.

Large oral doses have a positive effect ascorbic acid, as well as lemon, succinic acid, sugar. Absorption increases in the presence of meat poultry or beef.

Note that the most easily absorbed iron for the human body is found in plants!

Video: Iron and body energy

Conclusion

Proper and balanced nutrition is daily work on your health. But that's the only way in the best possible way provide your body with everything essential vitamins, minerals and trace elements. No the best way than getting iron from foods. And, of course, do not forget about regular physical activity.

Be sure to read about it