---
title: "Liver — what it does and the numbers"
description: "The largest internal organ, around 1.5 kg, and the only one that regenerates. What it does, where it is, the figures people look up, and the widely repeated claims t"
url: https://atoneplace.net/body/liver/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Liver

**Liver: The largest internal organ, around 1.5 kg, and the only one that regenerates.**

Performs several hundred distinct functions: filtering blood from the digestive tract, metabolising drugs and alcohol, producing bile, storing glycogen and manufacturing most blood plasma proteins. Nearly everything absorbed from the gut passes through it before reaching the rest of the body.

## Where it is

Upper right abdomen, under the diaphragm and mostly behind the ribs.

## The numbers

- **Mass:** 1.4–1.6 kg
- **Blood flow:** about 1.5 litres per minute
- **Share of body mass:** roughly 2%

## Worth knowing

The liver is the only human internal organ capable of substantial regeneration — as little as 25% of the tissue can regrow to full size, which is what makes living-donor transplants possible. It is also the only organ with two blood supplies, receiving both oxygenated arterial blood and nutrient-rich blood from the intestines.

> Structural reference only — this is not medical advice, and individual variation in every figure here is substantial. Anything concerning your own health belongs with a clinician rather than a reference page.

## Common questions

### What does the liver do?

Performs several hundred distinct functions: filtering blood from the digestive tract, metabolising drugs and alcohol, producing bile, storing glycogen and manufacturing most blood plasma proteins.

### Liver — key numbers

Mass: 1.4–1.6 kg. Blood flow: about 1.5 litres per minute. Share of body mass: roughly 2%.

## Related pages

- [Heart](https://atoneplace.net/body/heart/)
- [Brain](https://atoneplace.net/body/brain/)
- [Lungs](https://atoneplace.net/body/lungs/)
- [Skin](https://atoneplace.net/body/skin/)
- [Kidneys](https://atoneplace.net/body/kidneys/)
- [Bones](https://atoneplace.net/body/bones/)
- [Blood types](https://atoneplace.net/body/blood-types/)
- [Teeth](https://atoneplace.net/body/teeth/)
- [Blood](https://atoneplace.net/body/blood/)
- [The senses](https://atoneplace.net/body/senses/)
- [Taste](https://atoneplace.net/body/taste/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)