Hepatology

Liver and Biliary

The liver is the largest gland in the body, and conducts a myriad of vital metabolic and excretory functions. In addition, by virtue of its circulatory relationship to the absorptive surface of the gastrointestinal tract, the liver is the initial site where ingested nutrients, and other substances entering via the gastrointestinal tract, such as drugs and bacterial metabolites, are processed by the body. Thus, the liver is a gate-keeper that can process useful substances while detoxifying orally absorbed substances that are potentially harmful, such as toxic xenobiotics.