Unknown Facts About Liver and Liver Transplant Surgery

The human liver is the most vital organ in the body. It is a large, reddish-brown organ weighing about 3 pounds on the right side of the belly. The organ performs many essential functions that, if it stops working even for a single day, you cannot survive. Despite its importance in the human body, people pay little attention to the liver and its health. Let’s dive in and learn some essential unknown facts about the underappreciated liver. 

Not Just One, Liver Has Two Identities

1. There is no suspense about the function of the liver as an organ.
2. But it may be unknown to some people that the liver is also a gland.
3. While organs usually have a function specific to one region, glands are specialised organs that release different hormones to target specific things in the body.
4. The liver, as a gland, filters your body’s toxins and pushes them out of the body. 

Second Largest Organ - Next to the Skin

1. The liver is the second largest organ and the largest gland in the human body, about the size of a football.
2. It is situated just beneath the rib cage to the right side of your body and has two lobes, right and left.

Not One, Not 100, Liver Performs More Than 500 Functions

1. The liver is responsible for simultaneously performing more than 500 vital functions in the human body.
2. Some of these essential functions include producing bile which aids in the digestion and absorption of food, supplying glucose to the brain, storing nutrients, resisting infections, and synthesising proteins and cholesterol, among others. 

Did You Know, It Can Regenerate Itself?

1. Yes, you heard that right! The liver is the only organ competent to regenerate itself completely.
2. It most definitely has some astonishing powers! Say 75% of your liver was removed and only 25% left; 25% of tissue can regenerate a full-size liver in about six to eight weeks.

Working Liver = Functioning Brain

1. The liver regulates plasma glucose and ammonia levels. If these levels get out of control, you may develop a medical condition known as hepatic encephalopathy, eventually leading to a coma.
2. Therefore, a working liver is essential if you want your brain to function correctly. 
3. Now you know how vital this hardworking organ's health is. However, if your liver becomes injured or diseased and stops working correctly, you may need a liver transplant to save your life.
   But what is a liver transplant? Read on to find out.