The Liver

Principles and Practices of Toxicology in Public Health written by Ira S. Richards states that the liver constitutes about 6% of the body mass and is the largest internal organ in the body. The vital functions of the liver include: the storage and metabolism of carbohydrates, storage of vitamin A and D, biosynthesis of glycogen, albumin, globulins, steroids, blood-clotting factors, and Antiglotesinogen, as well as biotransformation and excretion of xenobiotics. The liver also includes functions in fat metabolism, synthesis of bile acids/salts that aid in digestion of fats, metabolism of hormones, the formation of urea from amino acids, the degredation of hemoglobin (billrubin) and route of elimination for bile pigments, and hemoglobin metabolites, transport and storage of lipids, metals such as iron, copper, zinc, and cadmium, and finally phagocytosis of microorganisms and other foreign bodies. 

The liver is also known as the most vulnerable target for toxicity from orally ingested chemicals. It is the first organ exposed to ingested chemicals following absorption due to its portal blood supply and its high content of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes which may increase the toxicity for certain chemicals. It is the primary organ for biotransformation reactions, the primary goal of which is the metabolic conversion of a xenobiotic from a readily absorbed lipophillic form to an easily excreted hydrophillic form. 

The basic structure of the liver is a specialized arrangement of cells into functional units called acini or lobules. The blood supply to the liver is mixed and it receives abut 80% venous blood and 20% arterial blood with a blood volume between 10% and 15% at any given time. Blood enters the lobules through branches of the portal vein and hepatic artery and then flows through small channels called sinusoids that are lined with primary liver cell type, the hepatocytes. The space between the sinusoids and the hepatocytes is called the space of Disse. 

Alcohol and the Liver

The American Liver Foundation states that alcohol can damage or destroy liver cells. The liver breaks down alcohol so it can be removed from your body. Your liver can become injured or seriously damaged if you drink more alcohol than it can process. Many heavy drinkers will progress from fatty liver disease to alcoholic hepatitis to alcoholic cirrhosis over time. However, some heavy drinkers may develop cirrhosis without first having alcoholic hepatitis first. Others may have alcoholic hepatitis but never have symptoms. Additionally, alcohol consumption may worsen liver injury caused by non-alcoholic liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis C. Since an individual's susceptibility to the toxic effects of alcohol may vary by many factors including age, gender, genetics and coexistent medical conditions, it is responsible for you to review alcohol use with your physician.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shares that heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver, and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations including: Steatosis, or fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis.

The liver plays in important role in bodily functions and excessive consumption of alcohol has the ability to permanently damage the liver which impacts the vital functions conducted that are needed in our daily lives.