Liver

The liver is an internal organ which lies in the abdominal cavity of the body of animals. In humans, it is the largest glandular organ of the body, and generally weighs about 3 lb.

The liver plays many important roles in the body, which can be grouped into three broad areas:
-Metabolism: The liver metabolizes carbohydrates, fats, proteins from digested food, storing them, using them to synthesize new proteins, or excreting them. Essentially, the liver helps maintain homeostasis in the body, regulating the body's supply of important nutrients and hormones.
-Filtration: The liver contains cells which remove substances from the blood for excretion - bacteria, endotoxins, viruses, antigens, and lots of other harmful stuff. The liver detoxifies the body of drugs.
-Storage: The liver generally stores about 600 ml of blood, though it can hold more if it needs to, for example in times of emergency; in addition, it stores vitamins and minerals.

Liver disease encompasses a wide range of conditions. The most common are hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that can have chronic effects, and cirrhosis, a chronic progressive inflammation that leads ultimately to liver failure. In addition, long term alcohol abuse can negatively impact the liver. There are also rarer genetic disorders that harm the liver, including hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease, and cystic fybrosis.