The liver is the body’s chemical factory
The liver has a variety of important functions.
Synthetic functions
Incoming food is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream through the gastrointestinal tract, and enters the liver through venous reflux, where it is synthesized again into various nutrients that the body needs, such as glycogen, lipoproteins, serum albumin, prothrombin, triglycerides, etc.
Detoxification function
Wastes of exogenous origin and metabolism by the body need to be processed by the liver and converted into water-soluble, more potent metabolites that can be easily eliminated from the body.
Immune function
The liver has an abundance of phagocytes that play an important role in fighting invasion by intestinal pathogens.
Disorders of the hepatic immune system can cause autoimmune diseases of the liver, such as autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and primary biliary cirrhosis.
What the liver is usually tested for
Usually, liver tests are performed in the following categories.
Indicators of liver cell injury
- Alanine aminotransferase (glutamate aminotransferase)
- Aspartate aminotransferase (glutamate aminotransferase)
Indicators of hepatic synthetic function
- Albumin
- Proalbumin
- Globulin
- Prothrombin
- Cholesterol
- Cholinesterase
Indicators of hepatic bile excretion function
- Alkaline phosphatase
- γ-glutamyl transpeptidase.
Indicators of hepatic bilirubin metabolism
- Total bilirubin
- Direct bilirubin