
The liver is reddish brown in colour. It has the consistency of foam rubber when healthy. In a child with liver disease, it is often firmer. In an adult, it is roughly the size of a rugby ball.
The liver has two main parts called the right and left lobes. There are over 300 billion specialised cells in the liver. These cells are served by a well organised intricate system of bile ducts and blood vessels. The bile ducts, which drain every liver cell, join like tributaries entering a stream, to form one main bile duct from each lobe. These join together to form the common hepatic duct.