Liver Facts
Liver Facts
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| Interesting Liver Facts: |
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| There is a liver in every single vertebrate (animals with a backbone, or spinal column) discovered, and there still no good means of artificially replacing the liver. |
| In addition to protecting us from any harmful substances that we may eat or otherwise put into our bodies, the liver also cleans our blood from the harmful chemicals that our own body produces just through living. These chemicals are then either put into our intestines as bile (which also helps absorb fats) and leaves our bodies as stool, or is passed to our kidneys and is filtered out into our urine. |
| Bile, which is made by our livers, is what gives our stool it's characteristic brown color. |
| Bilirubin, a chemical that our bodies make and our liver makes safe, is also filtered by our kidneys, which is what gives our urine the yellow color. |
| The liver has an amazing ability - it can constantly regenerate itself, and can take huge amounts of damage. This is why things like liver transplants are possible - someone can donate half of their liver to another person who needs a liver, and the half that is taken will grow back! |
| The liver stores excess sugars that you eat, or that are in your blood, in the form of a chemical called glycogen. Glycogen absorbs nearly 6 times its weight in water, so your liver is also important for water storage. When your body needs more sugars (like between meals), your liver breaks down the glycogen into glucose, which the rest of your body uses for fuel. The liver does this for the rest of your body, as the liver itself can't use glucose for energy. |
| Your liver also helps you when you have a cut. The liver makes the chemicals, enzymes, and other factors that your blood uses to clot. If your liver is sick, it doesn't make these very important things, and you will bleed easily. |
| The liver also processes nearly any medication you take, like Tylenol. Your body can't use the medicines that you take normally, so your liver makes it into a form that your body can use. |
| Your liver also makes cholesterol. Sometimes people think of cholesterol as a bad thing, but cholesterol is important for building cells, and making certain chemicals called hormones. Hormones are like messengers in your body, and without them the different parts of your body wouldn't be able to talk to each other very well. |
| There are many things that can cause your liver to be sick, including a virus (hepatitis B, for example), drugs (alcohol is a good example), and poisons. A good sign your liver is sick is if your eyes and skin turn a yellow color. |
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