2013 Liver And Pancreas Functions

Liver and pancreas arise from the anterior part of foregut. Liver is the largest digestive gland; it can weigh almost 2 Kg. Liver functions are as follow.

• Producing bile.
• As a food storage from blood in the form glycogen.
• Absorbing iron from damage blood.
• As a blood storage.
• As a site for fibrinogen and heparine synthesis.
• Converting provitamin A (caroten) into vitamin A and provitamin D (ergosterole) into vitamin D.
• Detoxificating (neutralizing poiosonous matter ) of drugs and alcohol.
• As a site for red blood cell destruction.

Bile is stored in gall bladder before entering the intestine. Bile is alkaline, therefore, the function is to neutralize acid food that comes out from stomach and make appropriate pH for pancreas and intestine enzyme. Bile also contains bile salt which helps the hydrolysis process of lipid in intestine.

Pancreas function as exocrine gland, endocrine gland, and a producer of enzyme. The role of pancreas as  exocrine gland is to produce pancreatic juice containing some substances as follows.

a.    Natrium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) has function to neutralize the acidity of intestine content and to increase the pH to 8.

b.    Amylase pancreas (disacarase) has function to break down starch into maltosa and glucose mixture. Some of amylase pancreas are as follows.

1. Maltase has function to break down maltose into two molecules of glucose.
2. Sucrase has function to break down sucrose into fructose and glucose.
3. Lactase has function to break down lactose into glucose and galactose.

c.    Lipase pancreas (steapsine) in the  enzyme that generates lipid hydrolysis into lipid acid and monogliceride mixture.

d.    Protease (peptidase) is the enzyme that breaks down protein. Pancreatic juice contains three types of protease, namely trypsinogene, chymotrypsinogene, and carboxypeptidase.

e.    Nuclease is the enzyme that generates nucleic acid (RNA and DNA ) hydrolysis into nucleotide component.

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