Everyone is aware of distinct organs of the body. But people who aren’t from the medical field are often confused between the functions and working of organs. They struggle to understand these organs and their work. Comprehending the discrepancy between kidney and liver can effortlessly make you know further about these organs.
Liver vs Kidney
The main difference between the liver and kidney is that the liver is the largest organ of the body performing the process of vital biosynthesis of the body, such as proteins, cholesterol, glycogen, etc. On the other hand, Kidneys are bean-shaped organs that execute removing waste material from the body.
The liver stands as the second on the list of massive organs in the body of animals. It is arranged on the right cavity of the abdomen. It accomplishes some of the largest essential tasks of the body. The primary role involves producing and storing energy by converting glucose into glycogen. This glycogen can be released when the body is deficient in energy.
The kidney is another very vital organ in the body of animals. It is a bean-shaped part positioned on right and left walls of the backbone down the rib cage. It regulates the functions critical for removing waste materials out of the body and the excess wanted. It also maintains the osmoregulation of the body.
Comparison Table Between Liver and Kidney
| Parameters of Comparison | Liver | Kidney |
| Location | The liver is placed in the right cavity of the abdominal cavity. | The kidney is located behind the peritoneum below the rib cage. |
| Number | Single Liver is present in the body of Man. | Two kidneys are present in the body of Man. |
| Function | The fundamental purpose of the liver is the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins. | The fundamental purpose of the kidney is to excrete out the debris of the body. |
| Storage | Liver reserves glycogen, fat, and vitamins. | The kidney doesn’t reserve anything in it. |
| Secretion | The liver produces bile and some imploring protein required in the clotting of blood. | The kidney produces certain hormones and decreases them. |
What is Liver?
The liver is a very crucial part of the human body. It is a huge lobed organ present just below the diaphragm. The right and left lobes have two significant lobes and two minor lobes, caudate and quadrate. It is also known as the body’s storehouse as it stores energy in the form of a polymer of glucose called glycogen.
Hepatocytes are the prominent working units of the liver. They perform all the major roles in the liver. Kupffer cells are another type of cell in the liver responsible for removing foreign particles in the liver. Hepatocytes produce bile (a critical digestive enzyme). It releases biles through bile ducts into the duodenum part of the intestine, where it is utilized for the breakdown of fats.
The liver breaks down major biomolecules in the body and converts them into the form the body can absorb energy. It also breaks down medicines to help the body absorb them. It produces some of the crucial proteins known as clotting factors required in the proper clotting of blood in the body.
When the body has a low glucose level, in such circumstances, the liver converts the stored glycogen into glucose. Also, it carries out gluconeogenesis to produce new glucose molecules to be used to gain energy in starving conditions. Default in liver functionality can lead to several Disorders such as Jaundice.
What is Kidney?
Kidneys are the major secretory organ of the body. It removes all the waste and toxic material from the body. The waste material from it is removed in the form of urine. It also regulates and maintains the osmolarity in the body. This means that it supports the amount of Iona in the body.
The basic working units of the kidney are nephrons. There are several hundred nephrons present in one kidney. These nephrons perform the function of waste material from the body. The glomerulus is the central portion of the nephron.
The blood passes through nephrons and glomeruli and the beneficial ions, and water reabsorption occurs. Finally, the toxic substances and waste materials such as urea, ammonia, uric acid, etc., are excreted out of the body in urine.
By reabsorption of ions and by excreting out excess ions when necessary, the kidney also maintains the osmolarity of the body. Defaults in the working of the kidney can result in several varieties of disorders. Serious dysfunction of the kidney can conclude in kidney downfall. If both the kidneys fail, in that case, the person requires dialysis.
Main Differences Between Liver and Kidney
- The liver weighs about kidney weighs 125-170 gms in Males while 115- 155 gms in Females.
- “Hepat” is the word used to refer to the liver in scientific languages. In contrast, the Renal word is often used in scientific language to refer to kidneys.
- The liver is the part of the body’s digestive system that is responsible for crucial metabolism. Kidneys prevail as a portion of the urinary network of the torso.
- Single Liver is present in Man’s body which has a gallbladder attached to it and lies adjacent to the belly. At the same time, two kidneys are present in Man’s body, an adrenal gland above it.
- Common liver disease includes Hepatitis, fatty liver, cancer, etc. In contrast, common diseases of the kidney are kidney stone, nephrotic syndrome, acute kidney injury.
Conclusion
The liver and kidney are equally crucial to the Human body. The liver detoxifies the body while the kidney frees the waste materials. The liver also performs other metabolism functions and storage of vitals of life. On the other hand, the kidney releases certain hormones and maintains the ion concentrations and blood pressure of the body.
There are certain habits that Humans have adapted that lead to damage of these organs. Luckily there are many techniques to overcome kidney damage by using dialysis. But there is no such temporary replacement of liver available. A synthetic liver transplant is a mere alternative in case of extensive liver destruction. But that too has significantly less successful rates as compared to kidney transplants.
References
- https://www.jci.org/articles/view/110106
- https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19582202378