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Houston Chronicle presents

Dr. Woods
"Ask the Doctor": Hepatitis

January 18, 1999

The Houston Chronicle presents "Ask the Doctor" where Dr. Woods discusses health issues including liver disease, transplants, hepatitis, organ donation, and cancer.

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TheChronicle: Welcome to Ask the Doctor! The purpose of the Ask The Doctor chats are to provide general information, and is in no way intended to be construed as medical advice for any visitors' specific disease or condition. The intent is to increase a participant's knowledge about a general disease or condition. For treatment of your specific condition please see your personal physician. This forum is not intended to be used in emergency situations. If you are uncertain of the urgency of your problem or condition, contact your personal physician or the nearest hospital . HoustonChronicle.com, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital - Houston and Talk City are proud to present our special guest for today, Dr. Woods of the Texas Liver Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. Welcome Dr. Woods!

Dr Woods: Thank you very much, I appreciate being here.

Suzeeeq: Can you give me some general information about the liver? Where is it? How big is it?

Dr Woods: The liver is in the right side of the abdomen, up under the rib cage. It really varies in size, depending on the size of the person. It is the single largest organ in the body, and for a normal 70 kilogram person, the liver would range between 2 and 4 pounds.

Darlenna: I've heard that the liver is the one organ that is unlikely ever to be replaced by a machine, because its functions are so numerous and varied. What does the liver do?

Dr Woods: The liver performs over 200 different functions in the body. I agree with the participant, that it is unlikely that a machine will be able to replace all of the different functions of the liver. All of the artificial liver devices that have been developed are so-called "biomedical devices" in that they include living cells as part of the device. The functions of the liver that are most important include the production of proteins, both involved with things like blood coagulation, antibodies, and the production of albumin, the most common protein in the body. In addition, the liver is the major energy factory in the body, being highly involved in glucose and sugar production. The liver also is very involved in the production of certain types of fat, especially cholesterol. The other major function of the liver is to detoxify substances that the patient eats. Alcohol, for example, is immediately broken down by the liver into less toxic substances, and the same is true for all medications, and essentially anything that is taken by mouth.

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