Liver Disease

The liver is an organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and detoxification. This organ also is the largest gland in the human body. It lies below the diaphragm in the thoracic region of the abdomen. It produces bile, an alkaline compound which aids in digestion, via the emulsification of lipids. It also performs and regulates a wide variety of high-volume biochemical reactions requiring specialized tissues.

Liver of a sheep: (1) right lobe, (2) left lobe, (3) caudate lobe, (4) quadrate lobe, (5) hepatic artery and portal vein, (6) hepatic lymph nodes, (7) gall bladder.

Medical terms related to the liver often start in hepato- or hepatic from the Greek word for liver, hēpar (ήπαρ).

Definition of Liver disease

Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large organ in the upper right abdomen that aids in digestion and removes waste products from the blood.

Liver disease includes the following conditions:

• Cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver
• Inflammation (hepatitis) from infectious (hepatitis B, hepatitis C) or non-infectious causes (chemical or autoimmune hepatitis)
• Tumors, benign and malignant (liver cancer)
• Metabolic disorders

Alcohol abuse is one leading cause of liver disease. Infections, poisons, and inherited (genetic) conditions can also cause diseases of the liver. In most patients with liver disease, multiple different functions of the liver are impaired.

Common Misspellings: liver diease, liver desease

Medical Glossary:

• Liver disease
• Liver disease - resources

Medical Library:

• Diseases of the Liver - Columbia University, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases

Heart

The heart is a muscular organ responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in the annelids, mollusks, and arthropods.^[1] The term cardiac (as in cardiology) means "related to the heart" and comes from the Greek καρδία, kardia, for "heart." The heart is composed of cardiac muscle, an involuntary muscle tissue which is found only within this organ.^[2] The average human heart beating at 72 BPM, will beat approximately 2.5 billion times during a lifetime of 66 years.

If you want your heart to be healthy for the rest of your life, follow this prescription:

1. Get plenty of exercise.

2. Follow a good diet.

3. Keep your heart clean and drug-free.

People who don't follow this prescription often develop some form of heart disease.

Be heart smart and have a healthy heart.

If you're like most people, you think that heart disease is a problem for other folks. But heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. It is also a major cause of disability. There are many different forms of heart disease. The most common cause of heart disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself. This is called coronary artery disease and happens slowly over time. It's the major reason people have heart attacks.

Other kinds of heart problems may happen to the valves in the heart, or the heart may not pump well and cause heart failure. Some people are born with heart disease.

You can help reduce your risk of heart disease by taking steps to control factors that put you at greater risk:

· Control your blood pressure

· Lower your cholesterol

· Don't smoke

· Get enough exercise