The largest gland in the body is the liver. It is on the right side of the body underneath the ribs. It weighs about three pounds and is eight inches long. The liver stores a form of glucose called glycogen. Vitamin A is manufactured in the liver. Bile which is needed to breakdown fat, is made in the liver. This organ is also where alcohol, drugs, bacteria and old blood cells are broken down and removed from the body. Damage to the liver can be serious because this organ is extremely necessary to life.
The gallbladder is a small sac on the underside of the right lobe of the liver. It stores bile that is made by the liver. Bile travels from the liver through the hepatic ducts to the gallbladder. It holds about two ounces of bile. Bile is needed to breakdown the fat that is in food.
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