The liver is one of the most important organs in the human body, yet many people are unsure exactly where it is situated or what it does. Whether you have noticed discomfort on your right side, received a blood test result you want to understand better, or are simply curious about your own anatomy, this guide answers those questions clearly and accurately.
The liver is situated in the upper right part of the abdomen, tucked beneath the diaphragm and largely sheltered by the lower rib cage. It is a large, wedge-shaped organ that extends slightly towards the upper-left side of the abdomen, crossing the body's midline. Understanding where the liver is located and how it relates to nearby organs can help you make more informed decisions about your health.
Where Is the Liver Situated in the Human Body?
The liver is located in the upper right quadrant of the abdominal cavity. More precisely, it sits beneath the right side of the diaphragm — the dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen — and is protected anteriorly and laterally by the lower ribs.
In terms of body surface anatomy, the liver occupies much of the space beneath the right ribcage and extends across the midline into the upper central abdomen, reaching as far as the left side of the epigastric (upper-middle stomach) region. When you place your right hand flat beneath your right rib cage, you are resting it roughly over the area where your liver lies, though in healthy adults the liver typically does not extend below the rib cage margin.
The liver sits in close proximity to several important structures:
This central yet right-dominant position means the liver interacts with much of your upper digestive system on a constant basis.
Which Side of the Body Is the Liver On?
The liver is predominantly on the right side of the body. This is why liver-related discomfort is often described as pain or heaviness beneath the right rib cage or in the right upper abdominal area.
However, it is important to understand that the liver is not exclusively on the right side. The organ is large enough that its left portion — known as the left lobe — extends across the body's midline into the upper left abdomen, sitting in front of the stomach. The liver's widest and heaviest portion is firmly on the right, but it tapers to a narrower left lobe that reaches towards the left side of the body's centre.
This distinction matters because not every pain or discomfort felt on the right side of the abdomen necessarily originates from the liver. The right kidney, right side of the colon, gallbladder, appendix and muscles of the abdominal wall all sit in or near the right abdominal region.
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Is the Liver in a Different Position in Females and Males?
This is one of the most commonly searched questions about liver anatomy. The straightforward answer is: no, the liver is not situated in a fundamentally different position in females compared with males.
In both female and male bodies, the liver occupies the upper right quadrant of the abdomen beneath the diaphragm, with its left lobe extending towards the upper centre of the abdomen. The anatomical position, its relationship to the diaphragm, its lobes and its connections to nearby organs are essentially the same regardless of sex.
That said, there are natural variations in the size and precise position of the liver from person to person — and this applies equally to both sexes. Body composition, height, posture, pregnancy (which can temporarily shift abdominal organ positions) and certain health conditions can all influence where exactly the lower border of the liver sits. In pregnancy, for example, the growing uterus can displace abdominal organs upward, including shifting the liver's position slightly.
In general medical and anatomical terms, the liver's location in the female body is the same as in the male body: upper right abdomen, beneath the diaphragm, protected by the rib cage.
How Many Livers Does a Human Have?
A normal, healthy human being has one liver. The liver is a single organ, though it is internally divided into distinct lobes — a structural feature that sometimes causes confusion.
Some people may have heard of split-liver transplantation, a surgical procedure in which a donated liver is divided and transplanted into two recipients. This is a specialist surgical technique and does not mean that humans normally possess more than one liver.
The distinction between the liver's internal divisions (lobes) and separate organs is important. The lobes of the liver are anatomical regions within the same single organ — not separate livers.
Liver Anatomy and Structure: Lobes, Lobules and Blood Supply
Understanding the internal anatomy of the liver helps explain why it is capable of performing so many essential tasks simultaneously.
The Main Lobes of the Liver
The liver is divided into two primary anatomical lobes:
In addition to these two principal lobes, anatomists recognise two smaller lobes:
Modern hepatic surgery uses a more detailed classification system called Couinaud's segmentation, which divides the liver into eight functionally independent segments. Each segment has its own blood supply and bile drainage, allowing surgeons to remove individual segments while preserving the remaining liver's function.
Liver Lobules: The Functional Units
At a microscopic level, the body of the liver is made up of thousands of tiny units called lobules. Each lobule is a small, roughly hexagonal structure containing hepatocytes (liver cells) arranged around a central vein. Between the hepatocytes run tiny channels called sinusoids through which blood flows, and bile canaliculi — minute channels that carry bile towards the bile ducts.
The lobules in the liver are the workhorses of hepatic function. It is within these microscopic structures that the liver performs its metabolic, detoxifying and secretory tasks.
Hepatic Blood Supply
The liver has a uniquely dual blood supply — one of its most distinctive anatomical features:
This dual supply means the liver receives blood that has already been processed through the digestive system, allowing it to intercept and process nutrients, medicines and potentially harmful substances before they reach the rest of the body.
Blood leaves the liver via the hepatic veins, which drain into the inferior vena cava and return blood to the heart.
Bile Production and Drainage
The liver continuously produces bile, a yellow-green digestive fluid essential for the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins. Bile produced by hepatocytes travels through a network of bile canaliculi, then into progressively larger bile ducts, eventually reaching the common bile duct, which delivers bile into the duodenum to aid digestion.
The gallbladder — a small, pear-shaped sac tucked into a groove on the underside of the right lobe of the liver — stores and concentrates bile between meals, releasing it when fat is detected in the digestive tract. Although closely connected to the liver anatomically and functionally, the gallbladder is a separate organ.
What Does the Liver Do? Key Functions Explained
The liver is the largest internal organ in the body and one of the most functionally complex. It performs over 500 distinct physiological tasks. Here are its principal functions:
Processing Nutrients from Food
After a meal, the portal vein delivers nutrient-rich blood from the intestines directly to the liver. The liver processes carbohydrates, proteins and fats, converting them into forms the body can use or store.
Regulating Blood Glucose
The liver plays a central role in maintaining stable blood glucose levels. After a meal, it absorbs excess glucose and converts it to glycogen for storage. Between meals or during exercise, it breaks glycogen back down into glucose and releases it into the bloodstream, helping keep blood sugar levels stable.
Producing Bile for Digestion
As described above, the liver produces bile continuously — approximately 500 to 1,000 millilitres per day — to assist with the digestion and absorption of dietary fats and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K).
Processing Medicines and Other Substances
The liver is the body's primary metabolic processing centre for medicines, alcohol and many naturally occurring compounds. Hepatocytes contain a rich array of enzymes — most notably the cytochrome P450 enzyme family — that chemically transform these substances so they can be safely used or eliminated from the body. This is why liver health is considered when prescribing certain medications.
Producing Important Blood Proteins
The liver synthesises a wide range of essential proteins, including:
Storing Vitamins and Minerals
The liver acts as a reservoir for several vital nutrients, including vitamins A, D, E, K and B12, as well as iron and copper. These stored nutrients can be released when dietary intake is insufficient.
Helping Process Waste Products
The liver breaks down ammonia (a toxic by-product of protein metabolism) into urea, which is then safely excreted by the kidneys in urine. It also processes old or damaged red blood cells, extracting haemoglobin and converting it into bilirubin — a component of bile. Elevated bilirubin in the blood can cause jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes.
Supporting Immune Function
The liver contains specialised immune cells called Kupffer cells that identify and destroy bacteria, viruses and foreign particles arriving via the portal blood from the gut. This positions the liver as an important first line of defence against pathogens entering from the digestive tract.
Organs on the Right Side of the Body
The right side of the abdomen contains several important organs, and it is useful to understand how these relate to the liver's position:
Understanding which organ occupies which area of the abdomen can help contextualise symptoms, though it is always important to seek professional assessment rather than self-diagnosing based on the location of discomfort alone.
Liver Diagram and Anatomical Understanding
A clear liver anatomy diagram typically shows the organ in its resting position in the upper right abdomen, with the right lobe clearly larger than the left, the gallbladder nestled beneath it and the hepatic and portal vessels entering at the hepatic hilum (sometimes called the porta hepatis) — a fissure on the liver's underside through which blood vessels, bile ducts and lymphatic vessels pass.
If you are reviewing a medical diagram of the liver inside the body, look for the following landmarks:
Liver-Related Symptoms and When to Seek Medical Advice
The liver itself has no pain-sensitive nerve endings on its surface, which means liver-related conditions do not always produce obvious pain in the early stages. When symptoms do occur, they may include:
These symptoms are non-specific and can arise from many different conditions. They do not confirm a liver problem, and liver conditions cannot be diagnosed from symptoms alone.
If you experience any of the above symptoms persistently, or if you develop sudden severe abdominal pain, significant jaundice or vomit blood, seek prompt medical attention. Your GP or a qualified healthcare professional can evaluate your symptoms and, where appropriate, recommend relevant assessments, including blood tests.
A health screening can offer a useful starting point for understanding your overall health and identifying markers that warrant further investigation. If you would like to understand more about your health through private testing, you can explore blood test prices or book an appointment at Private Blood Tests London.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the liver situated in the human body?
The liver is situated in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, beneath the diaphragm and largely protected by the lower rib cage. It extends slightly towards the upper central abdomen on the left side.
Is the liver on the right or left side of the body?
The liver is predominantly on the right side of the body. However, its left lobe extends across the body's midline into the upper left part of the abdomen, so the organ is not exclusively confined to the right side.
Where is the liver situated in the female body?
In females, the liver is situated in exactly the same anatomical position as in males — upper right abdomen, beneath the diaphragm, protected by the rib cage. The liver's position does not fundamentally differ between the sexes. Pregnancy can temporarily shift organ positions, but the liver's anatomical location remains the same.
How many livers does a person have?
A healthy human being has one liver. Although the liver is internally divided into lobes and segments, these are all part of a single organ.
What are the main lobes of the liver?
The liver has two main anatomical lobes: the right lobe (larger) and the left lobe (smaller). There are also two smaller lobes — the caudate lobe and the quadrate lobe — visible on the posterior and inferior surfaces of the liver.
What are lobules in the liver?
Lobules are the microscopic functional units that make up the liver's tissue. Each lobule is a small, roughly hexagonal structure composed of hepatocytes (liver cells) arranged around a central vein, through which blood and bile flow.
What organs are on the right side of the body?
The right side of the abdomen contains the liver (predominantly), the gallbladder, the right kidney, the right adrenal gland, the ascending colon, the appendix and caecum, and parts of the small intestine.
What is the main function of the liver?
The liver has hundreds of functions. Its principal roles include processing nutrients from food, regulating blood glucose, producing bile for digestion, metabolising medicines and alcohol, synthesising essential blood proteins such as albumin and clotting factors, storing vitamins and minerals, and breaking down waste products such as ammonia and bilirubin.
Where is the liver located in relation to the stomach?
The stomach sits to the left and below the liver. The liver's left lobe lies partly in front of (anterior to) the stomach in the upper abdomen. They are neighbouring organs connected indirectly through shared blood supply from the portal system and by the digestive process.
Can liver problems cause pain on the left side?
Because the left lobe of the liver extends into the upper left abdomen, liver-related conditions can occasionally produce discomfort in that area. However, left-sided abdominal pain is far more commonly associated with other organs such as the stomach, spleen, left kidney or colon. Any persistent pain should be assessed by a healthcare professional.
What is the hepatic hilum (porta hepatis)?
The hepatic hilum, or porta hepatis, is a fissure (gap) on the underside of the liver through which the portal vein, hepatic artery, common bile duct, lymphatic vessels and nerves enter and leave the organ. It is an important anatomical landmark in liver surgery and imaging.
When should I seek medical advice about possible liver symptoms?
You should speak to a healthcare professional if you experience persistent right upper abdominal discomfort, unexplained fatigue, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), dark urine, pale stools or unexplained weight loss. These symptoms are not specific to liver conditions, but they warrant professional evaluation. If you are considering private blood tests to check your health, you can explore a full blood count test or review available health screening options to discuss the most appropriate tests with a qualified professional.
This article is intended for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional if you have concerns about your health.