• The liver stores and processes newly digested nutrients that are brought to the liver by the blood vessels of the hepatic portal system.
• The liver receives oxygenated blood for its extensive metabolic activities from the hepatic artery.
• Processed blood is returned via the hepatic vein to the general circulation.
• The liver also produces bile which is emptied into the intestine to aid in the digestion of fats.

Histologically, the liver is divided into lobules.

This is the junction of several lobules. The lobule filling the right side of the frame has its central vein at the bottom right of the frame..

Here we are within another liver lobule, so we cannot see the edges of the lobule, only the central vein. This example shows how the liver cells or hepatocytes tend to form plates or layers, with spaces or sinusoids between them.