ANATOMY OF THE LIVER 

WHAT IS IT?
 Largest glandular organ in the body
 1.4-1.6 g in weight
 Rich blood supply approx. 1500ml of blood per
min
 Very important all nutrients from the git (except
for fat) travel via the portal system to the liver .
WHERE IS IT?
 The liver lies in the right hypochondrium and
right epigastrium with a portion in the left
hypochondrium directly below the diaphragm.

 Directly above the gall bladder

WHERE IS IT?
LOBES: 4 LOBES ANATOMICALLY
 Anatomically divided into right and left lobes
divided anteriorly by the line of attachment of
falciform ligament and viscerally by the
ligamentum teres and ligamentum venosum.
 Caudate lobe lies between inferior vena cava
and fissure of ligamentum venosum
 Quadrate lobe lies between gall bladder fossa
and fissure of ligamentum teres
LOBES: 4 LOBES ANATOMICALLY
SURFACES
 Convex diapragmatic surface
 Posterior inferior surface is molded to
accommodate viscera
BLOOD SUPPLY
 The liver has dual afferent blood supply.
 The portal vein (dominant) and the hepatic artery
 Portal vein 75% – 80% blood supply remainder
hepatic artery
BLOOD SUPPLY (ARTERIAL)
 The hepatic artery, a branch of the celiac trunk, may
be divided into the common hepatic artery, from the
celiac trunk to the origin of the gastroduodenal artery,
and the hepatic artery proper, from the origin of the
gastroduodenal artery to the bifurcation of the hepatic
artery. At or close to the porta hepatis (hilum of
liver), the hepatic artery and portal vein terminate by
dividing into right and left branches; these primary
branches supply the right and left livers, respectively.
VENOUS BLOOD SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE
 Portal vein drains the GIT and takes nutrient rich
blood to the liver. Portal supply meets approx. 50%
of the livers oxygen demand
 Venous drainage via right, intermediate and left
hepatic veins
 The hepatic veins, formed by the union of
collecting veins that in turn drain the central veins
of the hepatic parenchyma open into the Inferior
vena cava just inferior to the diaphragm.
PORTAL SYSTEM
LYMPHATICS
 3- 4 lymph nodes are found in the porta hepatis
and drain both the liver and gall bladder.
NERVE SUPPLY
 Sympathetic = fibres from the coeliac ganglia
 Parasympathetic = vagal fibres from the hepatic
branch of the anterior vagal trunk
HISTOLOGY
LIVER LOBULES

From anatomy at a glance

HISTOLOGY
LIVER LOBULES

 The liver is made up of multiple hexagonal functional units

 Branches of the portal vein and hepatic artery transport
blood throughportal canals into a central vein by way of
sinusoids which traverse thelobules.
 The central veins ultimately coalesce into the right, left
andcentral hepatic veins which drain blood from
corresponding liver areas backwards into the IVC. The
portal canals also contain tributaries of the hepatic ducts
which serve to drain bile from the lobule down the biliary
tree.
REFERENCES: IMAGES
 http://www.cancer.net/patient/Cancer+Types/Live
r+Cancer/ci.Liver+Cancer.printer
 Anatomy at a glance
REFERENCES: INFORMATION
 Last’s Anatomy
 Anatomy at a glance
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver