Liver and Pancreas

The **liver** is the largest gland in the body, weighing about three pounds in an adult. It is also one of the most important organs. In addition to being an accessory digestive organ, it plays a number of roles in metabolism and regulation.



The liver lies inferior to the diaphragm in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity and receives protection from the surrounding ribs.



The porta hepatis (“gate to the liver”) is where the hepatic artery and hepatic portal vein enter the liver. The hepatic artery delivers oxygenated blood from the heart to the liver. The hepatic portal vein delivers partially deoxygenated blood containing nutrients absorbed from the small intestine and actually supplies more oxygen to the liver than do the much smaller hepatic arteries.



In addition to nutrients, drugs and toxins are also absorbed. After processing the bloodborne nutrients and toxins, the liver releases nutrients needed by other cells back into the blood, which drains into the central vein and then through the hepatic vein to the inferior vena cava. With this hepatic portal circulation, all blood from the alimentary canal passes through the liver. This largely explains why the liver is the most common site for the metastasis of cancers that originate in the alimentary canal.



*LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS

CC licensed content, Shared previously, Accessory Organs in Digestion: The Liver, Pancreas, and Gallbladder, Authored by: OpenStax College. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/esgfrPlv@3/Accessory-Organs-in-Digestion-*

## Keywords
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