... peritoneal folds, on the other side with the anterior abdominal wall by the crescent-shaped ligament. The liver is reddish brown in colour and consists of two lobes, the right and the left, both of which are made up of thousands of lobules. The right lobe is six times the size of the left: the lobes are wedge-shaped, smooth textured and rubbery, they contain hundreds of cells called sinusoids (Gregoire 1992). Figure 2: Diagram showing the physiology of the liver (http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/organ/liver.html) The Structural components of the liver include: Hepatocytes: these are parenchyma cells that form plates they are the main functional cells of the liver. Sinusoids: these are the wide vascular channels that separate the plates of hepatocytes. The majority of cells lining the sinusoids are endothelial cells however, scattered among these cells are specific macrophage type cells termed Kupffer cells these are part of the liver's defence system. Bile ducts: which carry ...

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