The liver is located on the right side of your body. This organ can be found below the rib cage and above the stomach, kidney, and intestines in your abdomen. The liver is located in the same place for people of any sex. However, the organ may be heavier and larger in males.
Liver function is critical to maintaining health, and it plays a key role in digestion, nutrition, and processing waste in the body. Some of the conditions that affect the liver include hepatitis, fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, cholangitis, drug-induced liver disease, and cancer.
A Note on Gender and Sex Terminology
Verywell Health acknowledges that sex and gender are related concepts, but they are not the same.
- Sex refers to biology: chromosomal makeup, hormones, and anatomy. People are most often assigned male or female at birth based on their external anatomy; some people do not fit into that sex binary and are intersex.
- Gender describes a person’s internal sense of self as a woman, man, nonbinary person, or another gender, and the associated social and cultural ideas about roles, behaviors, expressions, and characteristics.
Research studies sometimes don’t use the terminology in this way. Terms that describe gender (“woman,” “man”) may be used when terms for sex (“female,” “male”) are more appropriate. To reflect our sources accurately, this article uses terms like “female,” “male,” “woman,” and “man” as the sources use them.
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Location of the Liver
The liver is located on the right side of the body, but part of the liver extends through the middle and slightly into the left side of the abdomen. It becomes narrower as it extends to the left side. The liver:
- Is found under the diaphragm, the large muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. It’s behind the protective ribs, with the lower part of the liver extending down to the bottom of the rib cage.
- Has two lobes, each with eight segments. The larger one is on the right. The lobes connect to a duct network made of small tubes that reach the common hepatic duct. Bile made in the liver travels through this duct to the gallbladder and the first part of the small intestine (called the duodenum).
- Might be felt in the area of the abdomen under the right rib cage. A liver affected by a disorder or disease could be tender. There’s also the potential to feel an enlargement or a mass on the liver.
- Varies in size but weighs about 3 pounds. On average, it has a wider span and weighs more in an adult male than an adult female. However, for individuals, it will vary by body size and other factors. One study of females found the average weight was 2.8 pounds.
Anatomical Variations of the Liver
Some anatomical variations of the liver are considered normal and may not cause any symptoms. For example:
- In Riedel’s lobe, which is more common in females, the right lobe has a projection that goes down to the gallbladder.
- Another variation is when the left side of the liver is elongated and extends to the spleen.
- Having some underdeveloped liver segments is also possible.
- Part of the colon can be between the liver and chest wall.
- The liver surface could also have contouring or striations.
Liver Function
The liver has many important functions in the body, including:
- Removing toxins from the blood (such as alcohol)
- Breaking down old or damaged red blood cells
- Producing bile
- Breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
- Producing proteins that help blood clot
- Regulating the amount of blood in the body
- Storing blood sugar (as glycogen), fat-soluble vitamins, and minerals such as copper and iron
Liver Conditions and Complications
Several different types of conditions can affect the liver.
Biliary Stasis
Certain conditions may affect the bile ducts. If the bile can’t flow freely through the ducts, it may build up in the liver, causing damage. Conditions that could lead to biliary stasis include:
- Alagille syndrome: A congenital (present at birth) condition where a person has fewer bile ducts than is typical
- Biliary atresia: A congenital condition where bile ducts are narrowed, blocked, or absent
- Biliary stricture: A narrowing in a bile duct
- Cystic fibrosis: A congenital condition causing mucus buildup in the bile ducts
- Gallstones: Hardened pieces of bile that can obstruct a bile duct
Cardiovascular Diseases
Diseases that may cause a lack of blood flow to the liver could also lead to liver disease. These include:
- Budd-Chiari syndrome: A rare condition in which the veins in the liver are narrowed or obstructed.
- Ischemic hepatitis: A condition causing a restriction of blood or oxygen to the liver.
- Vascular liver disorders: A number of usually rare disorders that affect the veins in the liver
- Right-sided heart failure: A condition wherein the right ventricle is too weak to pump enough blood to the body
Fatty Liver Disease
Too much fat in the liver could lead to inflammation. Fatty liver disease can result from consistently high blood sugar or high lipid levels in the blood. Symptoms of abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and jaundice (yellowed skin) are common.
Left untreated, fatty liver disease can progress and lead to complications, including liver failure.
Liver Cancer
Chronic liver disease can be associated with liver cancer although some types, such as the rare fibrolamellar-hepatocellular carcinoma (FLL-HCC), occur in younger people with no history of a liver condition.
Inflammation in the liver can alter the cells enough to lead to cancer. Liver disease due to a virus also result in changes that affect the DNA of the liver cells.
Metabolic Disorders
Some inherited conditions may negatively affect how the body converts food into energy. These metabolic disorders can cause a buildup of toxins in the blood and lead to chronic liver damage. This can include:
- Gaucher disease: A condition caused by a lack of an enzyme that breaks down a certain type of fat
- Glycogen storage disease: A condition that causes a lack of the enzymes needed to convert sugar from food into a form that the body can use
- Hemochromatosis: An inherited condition that causes a build-up of iron in the body
- Wilson disease: An inherited condition that causes too much copper to build up in the body
Noninfectious Hepatitis
Hepatitis occurs when the liver becomes inflamed. When a condition rather than infection causes it, it is called noninfectious hepatitis. Autoimmune conditions may lead to the immune system attacking the liver, causing inflammation. This can include forms of cholangitis that can cause inflammation of the bile ducts, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis.
Exposure to toxins or drug or alcohol use could also lead to inflammation in the liver. This could be called toxic hepatitis or alcohol-induced hepatitis. One purpose of the liver is to remove these toxins from the blood. If there are more of these substances for the liver to process, the result could be inflammation.
Viral Hepatitis
Viruses can also cause hepatitis. These viruses include:
- Hepatitis A: Spread through food and drinks that are contaminated with stool that contains the virus
- Hepatitis B: Spread by coming into contact with body fluids that contain the virus
- Hepatitis C: Spread through blood that contains the virus
- Hepatitis D: Spread by coming into contact with body fluids that contain the virus
- Hepatitis E: Spread through food or water contaminated with fecal matter that contains the virus and sometimes from a pregnant person to the fetus (vertical transmission). Undercooked pork, deer, or shellfish also can cause infection.
- Hepatitis G: Spread through blood that contains the virus
General Symptoms of Liver Disease
Liver disease can cause symptoms such as:
- Dark urine
- Itchy skin
- Pale stool
- Unintended weight loss
- Yellowish skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
Signs and symptoms of advanced liver disease can include:
Diagnosis
Several types of tests can diagnose diseases and conditions of the liver. These include:
- Abdominal ultrasound: An ultrasound is a test that uses sound waves to visualize the shape of the liver.
- Blood tests: Liver function tests measure liver enzymes, proteins, and bilirubin levels in the blood.
- Computed tomography (CT) scan: This form of imaging uses X-rays to create a 3D image of the body’s structures.
- Elastography: This test measures fibrosis (stiffening) of the tissue in the liver.
- Endoscopy: A thin tube with a light and a camera on the end passes through the mouth, down through the esophagus, and into the bile ducts.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): This type of imaging uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of the structures inside the body.
- Nuclear imaging: A harmless type of radioactive material is injected into the body to see how the body processes it.
- Liver biopsy: A small piece of tissue is taken from the liver to test it for liver conditions.
How to Check for Liver Function
Your healthcare provider can order blood tests to check for alkaline phosphate (ALP), bilirubin, and other markers of liver function. This is common for people who take long-term medications that can affect the liver, like some statin cholesterol drugs. At-home test kits are available but talk to your provider about their use to ensure you’re getting accurate results.
Summary
The liver is located in the upper right area of the abdomen and is protected by the rib cage. Some variations in the location or size of the liver might be normal and may not cause any signs or symptoms or be noticeable.
The liver plays an important role in health and could be affected by a number of factors, including viruses, inherited conditions, or diseases. When liver disease produces signs or symptoms, testing may determine the cause.
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