Osmosis video - Liver anatomy and physiology

The liver is an organ that lies just below the diaphragm in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity. It has a wide range of functions, including metabolism, detoxification, production of proteins important for blood clotting, and bile production.

The liver consists of four anatomical lobes, which are the right, left, caudate, quadrate lobes. Lobes are further subdivided into segments, all the way down to the main functional unit of the liver called hepatic lobule. Hepatic lobules are small with a specific hexagonal shape and it consists of four main parts: the portal triad, hepatocytes, hepatic sinusoids, and central vein.