i Explain how the liver is involved in the removal of nitrog

i) Explain how the liver is involved in the removal of nitrogenous waste from the body.

ii) Explain how alcohol is detoxified by the liver

Solution

1]

Excretion is a biological process involved in separation and removal of toxic wastes from body. In human beings, the waste products include CO2, H2O, Nitrogenous compounds like ammonia, Urea, Uric acid, bile pigments and excess salts etc. The most poisonous of all waste products is ammonia. Liver have their own specific functions but carry out excretion as a secondary function

Liver produces bile pigments – bilirubin, biliverdin and urochrome, which are metabolic wastes of hemoglobin of dead R.B.Cs. Urochrome is eliminated through urine. Liver is also involved in urea formation. Cholesterol and derivatives of steroid hormones, extra drug, vitamins and alkaline salts are also of excreted through bile.

The liver transforms fat-soluble toxins into a water-soluble form. This enables them to be released through the kidneys for elimination in urine, or into bile for elimination through the colon.

2]

Important role of liver is as a detoxifier, breaking down or transforming substances like ammonia, metabolic waste, drugs, alcohol and chemicals, so that they can be excreted. Rows of liver cells separated by spaces which act like a filter or sieve, through which the bloodstream flows. The liver filter is designed to remove toxic matter such as alcohol dead cells, microorganisms, chemicals, drugs and particulate debris from the bloodstream. The liver filter is called the sinusoidal system, and contains specialized cells known as Kupffer cells which ingest and break down toxic matter