An Introduction to the Liver

We all have livers, but how often do we really think about them?

Unlike your heart, your liver doesn’t pound when you feel nervous. Unlike your stomach, your liver doesn’t make growling noises when you get hungry.

As long as your liver stays healthy, it’s easy not to notice it.

Although your liver works “behind the scenes,” it's one of the largest and most important organs in your body. It not only produces substances to help digest and use food, but it also performs more than 300 other functions.

Where is My Liver and What Does it Look Like?

Your liver is located in the upper right-hand part of your abdomen, protected by your ribs.

A healthy liver is dark reddish-brown in color, and is shaped like a wedge. Some doctors have described the liver’s shape as that of a football that’s been flattened on one side.

In an adult, the liver weighs about three pounds and has two lobes — the right and the left.