LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Liver: Bile
built 605 days ago
Before transplantation liver support therapy might be indicated (bridging-to-transplantation). Artificial liver support like liver dialysis or bioartificial liver support concepts are currently under preclinical and clinical evaluation. Virtually all liver transplants are done in an orthotopic fashion, that is the native liver is removed and the new liver is placed in the same anatomic location. The transplant operation can be conceptualized as consisting of the hepatectomy (liver removal) phase, the anhepatic (no liver) phase, and the postimplantation phase. The operation is done through a large incision in the upper abdomen. The hepatectomy involves division of all ligamentous attachments to the liver, as well as the common bile duct, hepatic artery, and portal vein.
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The liver is the sole source of such necessary constituents of the blood as fibrinogen, serum albumin, and cholinesterase. In the embryonic stage of most vertebrates the liver serves as the major manufacturing site of erythrocytes, a process known as erythropoiesis. The liver ... removes toxins from the systemic circulation and degrades them, as well as excess hormones. Particulate material may be removed through a phagocytic action of specialized cells (Kupffer cells) lining the lumen of the hepatic “capillary spaces,†or sinusoids. In addition to the products which the liver delivers directly to the general circulation (endocrine function), it secretes bile through a duct system which, involving the gallbladder as a storage chamber, eventually passes into the duodenum (exocrine function). Bile functions as an emulsifier of fats to facilitate their digestion by fat-splitting lipases, and may also activate the lipase directly.
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The liver sits in the right upper abdominal cavity protected beneath the right rib cage. It has the classical external anatomy of an asymmetric right and left lobe. However, the conventional anatomy of many years ago is much better understood now, through the work of the French hepatic anatomist Claude Couinaud and others. The liver has eight segments under Couinaud’s terminology. Present day techniques of liver surgery are based on in depth understanding of the anatomy of these segments and the distribution of the segmental portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct to each individual segment.
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This is a high power image of the Hepatocytes (blue arrows) of the liver. These cells are the ones that make the bile. The yellow arrows are pointing to special structures that carry the bile from all the hepatocytes to the bile ducts called Bile Canaliculi. The red arrows are outlining the width of the Sinusoids. The black arrow is pointing to a special cell type of cell that sits with in the sinusoids, called Kupfer cells, which are the phagocytes of the liver.
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A number of studies suggest Milk Thistle Seed (Silybum marianum) supports optimal liver function. For example, Milk Thistle Seed’s can promote the liver’s ability to regenerate new tissue after damage occurs. Milk Thistle Seed even shows promise in stimulating the liver to produce additional bile for improved digestivefunction.
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The gallbladder is located between two of the liver lobes. It stores bile that is made by the liver, and secretes this bile through the common bile duct into the beginning of the small intestine (duodenum). The bile that is secreted into the duodenum aids in the digestion of many compounds, especially fat.
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