Liver structure and function

[Tariq Zaki]

The liver is a metabolically complex organ. Hepatocytes (liver parenchymal cells) perform the liver’s metabolic functions:

Formation and excretion of bile as a component of bilirubin metabolism (see Overview of bilirubin metabolism)
Regulation of carbohydrate homeostasis
Lipid synthesis and secretion of plasma lipoproteins
Control of cholesterol metabolism
Formation of urea, serum albumin, clotting factors, enzymes, and numerous other proteins
Metabolism or detoxification of drugs and other foreign substances