The liver is an organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and detoxification. This organ also is the largest gland in the human body. It lies below the diaphragm in the thoracic region of the abdomen.

Medical terms related to the liver often start in hepato- or hepatic from the Greek word for liver, hēpar (ήπαρ).

Some Diseases of the liver:

  • Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver, caused mainly by various viruses but also by some poisons, autoimmunity or hereditary conditions.
  • Cancer of the liver (primary hepatocellular carcinoma or cholangiocarcinoma and metastatic cancers, usually from other parts of the gastrointestinal tract).
  • Haemochromatosis, a hereditary disease causing the accumulation of iron in the body, eventually leading to liver damage.
  • Cirrhosis is the formation of fibrous tissue in the liver, replacing dead liver cells. The death of the liver cells can for example be caused by viral hepatitis, alcoholism or contact with other liver-toxic chemicals.
Hepatitis (plural hepatitides) implies injury to liver characterised by presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue.
Acute hepatitis is when it lasts less than 6 months and chronic hepatitis is when it persists longer. A group of viruses known as the hepatitis viruses cause most liver damages worldwide. Hepatitis can also be due to toxins (notably alcohol), other infections or from autoimmune process. It may run a subclinical course when the affected person may not feel ill. The patient becomes unwell and symptomatic when the disease impairs liver functions that include among other things, screening of harmful substances, regulation of blood composition and production of bile to help digestion.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis