Liver function tests

Liver function tests
? The liver is the largest organ in the body
? It is located below the diaphragm in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity and extended approximately from the right 5th rib to the lower border of the rib cage.
? The liver is separated into a right and left lobe, separated by the falciform ligament. The right is much larger than the left .
? The working cells of the liver are known as hepatocytes, which have a unique capacity to reproduce in response to liver injury.
? Liver regeneration can occur after surgical removal of a portion of the liver or after injuries that destroy parts of the liver.
? Although the liver s ability to react to damage and repair itself is remarkable, repetitive insults can produce liver failure and death.
? Excretory function: bile pigments, bile salts and cholesterol are excreted in bile into intestine.
? Metabolic function: liver actively participates in carbohydrate, lipid, protein, mineral and vitamin metabolisms.
Hematological function: liver is also produces clotting factors like factor V, VII. Fibrinogen involved in blood coagulation is also synthesized in liver. It synthesize plasma proteins and destruction of erythrocytes
Storage functions: glycogen, vitamins A, D and B12,and trace element iron are stored in liver.
? Protective functions and detoxification: Ammonia is detoxified to urea. kupffer cells of liver perform phagocytosis to eliminate foreign compounds. Liver is responsible for the metabolism of xenobiotic.
The title ‘liver function tests’ is, however, somewhat of a misnomer; only the bilirubin and albumin given in this panel offer information regarding the functional capacity of the liver. At a basic level
the evaluation of liver enzymes simply gives information as to whether a patient’s primary disorder is hepatitic or cholestatic in origin.
However, much more may be interpreted from these assays with knowledge of enzyme ratios and pattern
recognition.