What does a liver do for your body?

Question

I have to find info on liver for a assignment, and I have no clue because it is not shown in my textbook? need an answer!!

Answer 1

Hey Hun!

Here's what wikipedia says...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver

But just 2 let you know it cleans your blood!

I hope this helps!

Lela

Answer 2

The liver is the body's chemist. You are in need of sugar in your blood? The liver will convert fat into sugar.

Had a big meal with excess sugar? The liver will convert it into fat for storage.

Lose your liver and you are dead within a few hours, tops.

Answer 3

it should be in your text book, its pretty important. look it up on wikipedia. its main functions are converting glucose into glycogen (the chemical we store sugar as in the body), making bile to help digest fats, and removing ammonia from the blood and turning it into urea (which is less toxic) so that the kidneys can filter it out and make urine

Answer 4

produces bile and insulation for cells.

Answer 5

Not something you want to put in your assigment probably, but it has been said that life depends on the liver :-)

Believe it or not though it is the title of a medical article so maybe you might be able to justify the quote lol.

See below.

Answer 6

First of all, looking online is a BIG help, asking random people not always so much.

Nevertheless, as a random person, I'll try to help you out.

First we have to look at digestion. When you eat your saliva breaks starch into smaller polysacharides (multiple bonded sugars) and then your stomach passes these sugars to your small intestine. This is where the sugars are reduced to monosacharides, like glucose and fructose, which are absorbed into your blood. This nutrient-rich blood enters the hapatic vein and travels into the liver. The liver's job is to monitor your blood-glucose levels. If there's too much sugar for the body to take in at the moment, it stores the sugar as a fat called glucogen. If your blood-glucose levels are too LOW, it triggers the hormone glycagon to release the sugars in glycogen as glucose again.

So you know how alcoholics are said to have "fatty livers"? Yup, that's what they mean.. sugar alchohols being stored in the liver as glycogen.

This is really just the part for glucose, however, because it's all I really know well. So hope this helps a bit, but there's most definitely more to it. Using something like answers.com or other reference sites will be helpful.

Answer 7

cleans your blood

Answer 8

Your liver is your largest internal organ. A big blood vessel, called the portal vein, carries nutrient-rich blood from your small intestine directly to your liver.

* Convert sugars and store and release them as needed, thereby regulating your blood sugar level

* Break down fats and produce cholesterol

* Remove ammonia from your body and produce blood proteins, including blood clotting factors

* Detoxify drugs and alcohol

* Produce bile, which breaks down fats in the food your eat