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The liver is a vital organ of vertebrates and some other animals. In the human it is located in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, below the diaphragm. The liver has a wide range of functions, including detoxification of various metabolites, protein synthesis, and the production of biochemicals necessary for digestion.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Anatomy and physiology of the liver - Canadian Cancer Society )〕 The liver is a gland and plays a major role in metabolism with numerous functions in the human body, including regulation of glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, hormone production, and detoxification.〔 It is an accessory digestive gland and produces bile, an alkaline compound which aids in digestion via the emulsification of lipids. The gallbladder, a small pouch that sits just under the liver, stores bile produced by the liver. The liver's highly specialized tissue consisting of mostly hepatocytes regulates a wide variety of high-volume biochemical reactions, including the synthesis and breakdown of small and complex molecules, many of which are necessary for normal vital functions. Estimates regarding the organ's total number of functions vary, but textbooks generally cite it being around 500. Terminology related to the liver often starts in ''hepar-'' or ''hepat-'' from the Greek word for liver, ''hēpar'' (ἧπαρ, root hepat-, ἡπατ-).〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Etymology online hepatic )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Etymology online hepatos )〕 There is currently no way to compensate for the absence of liver function in the long term, although liver dialysis techniques can be used in the short term. Liver transplantation is the only option for complete liver failure. ==Structure== The liver is a reddish brown wedge-shaped organ with four lobes of unequal size and shape. A human liver normally weighs . It is both the largest internal organ and the largest gland in the human body. Located in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity, it rests just below the diaphragm, to the right of the stomach and overlies the gallbladder. The liver is connected to two large blood vessels, the hepatic artery and the portal vein. The hepatic artery carries oxygen-rich blood from the aorta, whereas the portal vein carries blood rich in digested nutrients from the entire gastrointestinal tract and also from the spleen and pancreas.〔 These blood vessels subdivide into small capillaries known as liver sinusoids, which then lead to a lobule. Lobules are the functional units of the liver. Each lobule is made up of millions of hepatic cells (hepatocytes) which are the basic metabolic cells. The lobules are held together by fine areolar tissue which extends into the structure of the liver, by accompanying the vessels (veins and arteries) ducts and nerves through the hepatic portal, as a fibrous capsule called Glisson's capsule. The whole surface of the liver is covered in a serous coat derived from peritoneum and this has an inner fibrous coat (Glisson's capsule) to which it is firmly adhered. The fibrous coat is of areolar tissue and follows the vessels and ducts to support them. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Liver」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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