Liver has how many lobes

The gallbladder, a separate organ that works closely with the liver, is attached to the bile duct. Although it's small, the gallbladder is distensible, which means it's able to stretch out or distend if necessary. The inferior vena cava is a large main vein that carries blood through the liver and back to the heart.

Below the right lobe of the liver lies the gallbladder — a hollow, pear-shaped, saclike organ. The gallbladder stores bile, a greenish brown fluid produced by the liver to help the body break down and use fats.

When a person eats, the gallbladder empties bile into the intestines to help digest food. Your health information, right at your fingertips. The human liver is both the largest internal organ the skin being the largest organ overall and the largest gland in the human body. It is a soft, pinkish-brown, triangular organ normally weighing 1. The liver has a wide range of functions including detoxification, protein synthesis, and the production of the biochemicals necessary for digestion.

It is located in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity, resting just below the diaphragm. The liver lies to the right of the stomach and overlies the gall bladder.

Click Image to Enlarge. The liver has 2 main sections lobes. Both are made up of 8 segments. The segments are made up of a thousand small lobes lobules. The lobules are connected to small ducts tubes that connect with larger ducts to ultimately form the common hepatic duct. The liver regulates most chemical levels in the blood and excretes a product called bile. This helps carry away waste products from the liver.

All the blood leaving the stomach and intestines passes through the liver. The liver processes this blood and breaks down, balances, and creates the nutrients and also metabolizes drugs into forms that are easier to use for the rest of the body or that are nontoxic. More than vital functions have been identified with the liver. Some of the more well-known functions include the following:.