Liver

The liver is an organ in vertebrates, including humans. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body including detoxification, glycogen storage and plasma protein synthesis. It also produces bile, which is important for digestion. Medical terms related to the liver often start in hepato- or hepatic from the Greek word for liver, hepar.

Cultural allusions

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was punished by the gods for revealing fire to humans by being chained to a rock where a vulture (or an eagle, Ethon) would peck out his liver, which would grow again overnight. Curiously, the liver is the only human internal organ that actually can regenerate itself to a certain extent, a characteristic which may have already been known to the Greeks.

Related Topics:
Greek mythology - Prometheus - Vulture - Eagle - Ethon

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The Talmud (tractate Berakhot 61b) refers to the liver as the seat of anger, with the gallbladder counteracting this.

Related Topics:
Talmud - Anger - Gallbladder

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