Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

247
liver
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the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K; to eliminate,
by metabolizing or secreting, the potentially harmful
biochemical products produced by the body, such as
bilirubin, from the breakdown of old red blood cells
and ammonia from the breakdown of proteins; and
to detoxify, by metabolizing and/or secreting, drugs,
alcohol, and environmental toxins.
liver biopsy
A procedure in which a small sample
of the liver is removed for the diagnosis of abnormal
liver conditions. The most common method for
obtaining a liver biopsy is percutaneous (“through
the skin”). A percutaneous biopsy involves insertion
of a biopsy needle through the skin and chest wall
over the lower right side of the chest (directly over
the liver) using a local anesthetic.
liver of pregnancy, acute fatty
See 
acute fatty
liver of pregnancy.
liver transplantation
Surgery to remove a dis-
eased liver and replace it with a healthy liver (or
part of one) from a donor. The most common rea-
son for liver transplantation in children is biliary
atresia (a disease in which the ducts that carry bile
out of the liver are missing or damaged). The most
common reason for liver transplantation in adults is
cirrhosis (a disease in which healthy liver cells are
killed and replaced with scar tissue). There is no
effective treatment for end-stage liver disease other
than transplantation. The life of someone with kid-
ney failure can be extended via dialysis, and some-
one with a failing heart can sometimes be sustained
with an implantable pump, but there are no
machines that can take over the liver’s functions.
Transplanted livers may come from cadavers or liv-
ing donors.