About the liver

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. It is bigger than you might think and quietly gets on with hundreds of important jobs every day. But most of us don’t often think about our livers, or how we can help to keep them healthy.

Where is my liver?

Your liver is on the right side of your body, just under your ribs.

If you put your right hand there, it will cover most of your liver.

What does my liver look like?

Your liver is a dark reddish-brown colour. A healthy liver looks smooth on the outside.

But if someone has a liver condition their liver can look rough or lumpy.

Livers are divided into two main sections called “lobes”. You have a right lobe and left lobe. The right lobe is a bit bigger.

The gallbladder is a smaller organ that sits just under your liver and is joined to it by tubes called bile ducts. More bile ducts join up with your pancreas and digestive system.

Your liver is also joined up to some important arteries and veins that bring blood into and out of your liver.

Your liver is really important for keeping your blood healthy. You have about 10 pints of blood in your body. At any time, more than a pint of your blood will be passing through your liver.

What does my liver do?

The liver has over 500 jobs. These include:

Digesting food

The liver makes proteins called enzymes that are important for breaking down food and getting the nutrients out.

Producing energy

By digesting food the liver also releases energy from it for all the things the body needs to do every day.

Storing energy

When someone eats carbohydrates (like bread and potatoes) the liver can store some of it as a sugar called glycogen. If the body needs energy quickly, the liver turns glycogen into glucose for instant fuel.

Storing vitamins, iron, and other nutrients.

The liver stores vitamins A, D, E, K and B12 as well as other important nutrients. This helps to make sure there is always enough of them when you need them.

Fighting infections

The liver is on the front line in the fight against infections. It is an important part of the immune system and helps to stop dangerous bacteria and viruses from attacking the digestive system.

Removing toxins

The liver and kidneys are detox experts. Together they remove toxins from the blood and send them out of the body when you go to the loo.

Healing

The liver makes blood clotting proteins. These are really important in stopping the bleeding if someone gets a cut. The liver also helps to heal any damage.

Can the liver repair itself?

Yes! The liver is the only organ in the body that can heal itself if it gets damaged.

The liver is made up of thousands of cells. Because they are so busy, each cell will eventually get damaged or just worn out. The liver is always on the look out for damaged or dying cells and will tidy them away and grow new liver cells to take over.

But there is only so much it can take. If the liver keeps on getting lots of damage for a long time, for example from things like an autoimmune disease, alcohol or a hepatitis virus, then eventually it can’t keep up with the repairs. This is when serious liver disease happens.

But even then, taking away the cause of the damage can stop the liver disease getting worse and might even let it do some repairs.

The stages of liver disease