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Biology 11 Biology 12 For Fellow Teachers Labs Class Acronyms About Don Lockwood

Liver Functions

Liver Functions
How the Function Is Performed
  1. It deoxifies poisons, like alcohol, and products go out with bile.
 It uses enzymes like alcohol dehydrogenase.
  1. It changes glucose to glycogen so proper [blood glucose] can be maintained.
    Glucose ---> Glycogen
 It uses insulin to activate an enzyme right after meals.
  1. It makes salts for tipid emulsification.
 The liver uses chloresterol and changes its bile to salts.
  1. It recycles Iron (Fe)

    It recycles Iron.
Kupffer (macrophage) cells engulf old Red blood cells. Then, hemoglobin down to release iron from heme and amino acids.
  1. It eliminates ammonia that comes from amino groups in amino acids when making sugar.
 The liver combines ammonia with Carbon dioxide to make Urea and water. The urea then goes to your bladder.
  1. The liver can convert excess amino acids into glucose to keep the brain alive during starvation, through a process called Deamination (so left overs can make sugar).
 It uses an enzyme to split the ammonia from amino acids. The residue is converted to glucose and the ammonia is split off sugar.
    1. The liver makes plasma proteins. Ex: Albumin value? Albumin raises the asmolic pressure (therefore, it causes water to be drawn into blood from tissues by osmosis).


    2. The liver makes plasma proteins. Ex: Fibrinogen (needed for blood clotting).
  1. It uses its enzyme and ribosomes.


  2. It uses enzymes and ribosomes.
  1. It eliminates bacteria from blood.
 Phagocytosis by macrophage cells.