Question

Draw and label a liver lobule. Describe how this tissue arrangement is essential for the following liver functions: A. production of bile and B. detoxification of blood.

Answer 1

The hepatic lobule is the microscopic structurd of the liver.
The hepatic lobule consists of the following :

- bile duct, portal vein and hepatic artery which are together termed as portal triad

- liver sinusoids

- hepatocytes

- central vein or the hepatic vrin

- kupffer cells

A. Production of bile.
Production of bild takes place mainly in the liver. The bile is formed in the liver cells known as hepatocytes. Within the hepatocyte the cholesterol is catabolised and acted upon various enzymes to form the bile salts. These bile salts are then transferred tonthe bile duct. The bile duct drains the bile from liver into the gall bladder.
B. Detoxification

The various types of toxins enters the liver through portal vein and hepatic artery. These toxins include drugs, insecticides and pesticides, pollutants, alcohol, cellular metabolites.
When these toxins enter the liver, they are broken down into different metabolites inside the hepatocytes through various biochemical reactions. The metabolites are then converted to water soluble products and passed on to intestine and kidney for elimination from body as faeces and urine.