Liver Function: Development, Size & Vital Roles

Your liver starts functioning before you're even born. The fetal liver is responsible for producing blood cells, bile, and other important proteins. After birth, the liver continues to grow and develop, and by the time you're an adult, it's about the size of a football. The liver is responsible for over 500 different functions, including:

- filtering out toxins from the blood

- producing bile to help digest fats

- storing glycogen for energy

- regulating blood clotting

- synthesizing proteins

- converting certain hormones

- destroying old red blood cells

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body, and it plays a vital role in maintaining homeostasis.