ABSTRACT
It was the famous French physiologist Claude Bernard (1838–1878) who established the liver in its rightful place as a vital organ, “a veritable laboratory of life” (Haubrich, 1997). In modern times, the liver is acknowledged as the largest solid organ in the body, totally supporting Bernard's teaching that the liver is essential to life. The liver has multiple vital functions including detoxification, glucose storage and release, lipid metabolism, bile formation to assist digestion, production of several proteins including clotting factors and immunoglobulins, hormone metabolism, hormone messenger production such as IGF1, and others. With all of these functions, it is not difficult to recognize the true importance of this organ.
