1. Facts about bile Bile is produced in the liver
Bile is stored in the gallbladder.
Bile is secreted into the small intestine.
Bile salts are absorbed in the small intestine and recycled.

2. Biliary tract

3. Biliary tract has 4 components

5. Function of CCK on biliary secretion

6. Neurohormonal control of gallbladder contraction and biliary secretion

8. Liver **Largest organ in the body
**High blood flow ml/min to liver sinusoids (1050 ml from the portal vein, 300 ml from hepatic artery)
Physiologically – low vascular resistance (small difference between pressures in the portal vein and hepatic vein). 9 mm Hg in portal vein and about zero!! in hepatic vein

9. Functions of the amazing liver
1. Formation and secretion of bile
2. Excretion of bilirubin
3. Detoxication of various substances
Metabolic products of intestine microbes:
Exogenous toxins (drugs, alcohol, poisons)
Hormones (thyroxine, estrogen, cortisol, aldosterone)
4. Synthesis of plasma proteins:
1. Albumin
2. Clotting factors (synthesis of most of the coagulating factors)
3. Hormone-binding proteins

10. Functions of the liver (cont.)
5. Blood reservoir – filtration and storage of blood (450 ml =
almost 10 % of the body’s total blood volume). This increases in cardiac failure.
6. Immunity (Kupffer cells = macrophages). Kupffer cells remove aged RBCs, bacteria, viruses, antigen-antibody complexes and endotoxin. They produce inflammatory mediators for local and systemic use.

11. Functions of the liver (cont.)
7. Vitamins - metabolism and storage of vitamins A, D and B12
8. Relation to blood formation
storage of vitamin B12
metabolism of iron and its storage as ferritin (hepatic cell contains apoferritin and when excess of iron in the blood it forms ferritin) = blood iron buffer
participation (to small extent) on production of erythropoietin

12. Liver and protein metabolism
***Deamination of amino acids
***Formation of urea for removal of ammonia from the body fluids
*** Formation of plasma proteins (90% of all plasma
proteins, up to 50 g of plasma proteins daily) –gamma globulins are not formed by liver.
***Interconversions of the various amino acids and
synthesis of other compound from amino acids

13. Liver and carbohydrate metabolism
***Maintaining a normal blood glucose concentration
***Storage of glycogen – removing excess of
glucose from blood, storage, fast return when the blood concentration decreases = Glucose buffer function
***Conversion of galactose and fructose to glucose
***Gluconeogenesis
***Formation of many chemical compounds from
intermediate products of carbohydrate metabolism

14. Liver and fat metabolism
***Oxidation of fatty acids to supply energy for other body function
***Synthesis of large quantities of cholesterol (80% of cholesterol synthesized in the liver is converted
into bile salts), phospholipids, and most lipoproteins
***Inactivation of steroids and their excretion of the body
***Synthesis of fat from proteins and carbohydrates