ABSTRACT
The liver is the largest gland in the body. It lies beneath the dome of the diaphragm and the central tendon on the right side of the body.
It is composed of four lobes – right, left, caudate and quadrate – which contain within them 50000-100000 lobules. A lobule can be thought of as a cylindrical structure of hepatic cells (hepatocytes) surrounding a central vein. However the liver is sometimes described as being arranged into acini, with the portal triad at the centre. This arrangement is used to emphasize the endocrine function of the liver.
