Structure of the Liver

The liver has three main components: **hepatocytes**, **bile canaliculi** and **hepatic sinusoids**. Hepatocytes are the primary cell type in the liver, accounting for around 80% of its volume. These cells are involved in a wide range of secretory, metabolic and endocrine functions. Between adjacent hepatocytes, cell membrane grooves create space for bile canaliculi, which are small ducts that collect bile produced by hepatocytes. Bile flows from these canaliculi into bile ductules and then into larger bile ducts, which join to form the right and left hepatic ducts. These ducts merge and exit the liver as the common hepatic duct, which then combines with the cystic duct from the gallbladder to form the common bile duct, directing bile into the small intestine. Hepatic sinusoids are open, porous blood spaces formed by fenestrated capillaries that receive nutrient-rich blood from the hepatic portal veins and oxygen-rich blood from the hepatic arteries. Blood flows through these sinusoids and exits via the hepatic vein into the inferior vena cava. Notably, blood and bile flow in opposite directions within the liver. *LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS CC licensed content, Shared previously, Accessory Organs in Digestion: The Liver, Pancreas, and Gallbladder, Authored by: OpenStax College. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at:http://cnx.org/contents/esgfrPlv@3/Accessory-Organs-in-Digestion-*