Wheel of Liver

Still honoring the fact that October is liver awareness month, here is more liver trivia:

• A double-layered membrane encases the liver. This protects the liver against friction from nearby organs.
• Liver cells do not have nerves. This means that technically a liver biopsy would not hurt if doctors could perform a liver biopsy without puncturing the skin, membrane and surrounding tissue. However, the majority of liver biopsy procedures are percutaneous, meaning a needle needs to pass through the skin and surrounding tissue in order to get to the liver. This is why a local anesthetic is used to numb the area.
• The liver has over 500 functions. The human body relies on the liver for regulation of energy, hormonal balance and clotting.  It also filters nutrients, poisons and bacteria.