Download The Liver and Pancreas Remarkable Organs of Intelligent Design

The Liver and Pancreas
Remarkable Organs of Intelligent Design
John R. Galloway, MD
Professor of Surgery
Emory School of Medicine
The Liver and Pancreas
A Story
How Fred, the cadaver, and his liver taught
me the importance of Christian Apologetics
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver, Pancreas and Me
 My Uncle Tom with Alcoholic Cirrhosis
 Emory Clinical Research Facility:
Nutrition and metabolism research in patients
with liver disease as a medical student
 My first patient: 45 year old dairy farmer with
pancreatic cancer
The Liver and Pancreas
General Outline
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Embryology
Anatomy: Macro and Micro
Blood Supply
Physiology and Function
Intelligent Design Applications
The Liver and Pancreas
Major Themes
1. Irreducible and specified complexity exists not only at
the cellular level but also within the organ as a whole.
2. Complexity does increase as you go from:
* External to Internal
* Macro to Micro
* Total function to individual function
3. Absolutely intricate and intimate relationships exists
between individual organs and other organ systems
as well as the body as a whole.
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
Physiological Units of the Liver
 Hepatocytes
 Vascular Blood Supply
 Reticulo-endothelial System
 Biliary System
* 2 to 4 lbs; 3 billion cells; 500 functions *
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
Functions of the Liver
1. Metabolism of basic nutrients
2. Phagocytosis and immunological surveillance
3. Detoxification
4. Vitamin metabolism
5. Coagulation factors
6. Bile formation and excretion
7. Energy storage
8. Cholesterol control
9. Maintains hormonal balance
10. Protein synthesis
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver as an Irreducibly Complex Organ System
** Each physiological unit must function for the
organ to perform its role
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Hepatic artery blockage: bile ducts die
Portal vein blockage: liver atrophy
Hepatic vein blockage: liver cells die
Vitamin K deficiency: poor blood clotting
Remove RES: loss of filtering and poor immune
status
6. Loss of nerve supply: uncoordinated bile flow
7. Liver cell death: failed nutrient metabolism and
detox capability
The Liver and Pancreas
** The interdependency between the Liver
and Body as a whole demonstrated in Liver
Failure
1. Altered amino acid metabolism
BCAA
Skeletal mass
AAA
Liver coma
2. Altered CHO metabolism
glycogen
quick energy
sugar
malnutrition
The Liver and Pancreas
3. Altered Fat Metabolism
Bile
poor digestion
Fat in liver
hepatitis
4. Altered Sodium and Water Homeostasis
Kidney fxn
Ascites, edema
5. Altered Immune System
Increased infection
6. Altered blood flow to liver
Congestive Heart Failure
The Liver and Pancreas
7. Liver damage: Hepatopulmonary Syndrome
Lung failure
8. Liver damage: BM Failure
anemia, leukopenenia, Platelets
9. Altered Hormone Metabolism
Sterility
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
Liver Regeneration
 When the liver is damaged or removed, it has
the ability to regenerate 75%
 Remaining healthy cells move from growth
arrested state to proliferation phase
 Continues day to day physiological function
 Hepatotrophic growth factors from small bowel
and pancreas: insulin, glucagon
The Liver and Pancreas
Functions of the Pancreas
1. Exocrine: produce and secrete enzymes of
digestion
2. Endocrine: glucose control through production
and secretion of Insulin and Glucagon
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
The Liver and Pancreas
Some Take Home Points
1. The Liver and Pancreas are organs of enormous
complexity.
2. Their unique location between the intestines and
the rest of the body is ideally designed to allow
them to perform their roles in substrate
metabolism and homeostasis.
3. They are divided up into anatomical and
physiological units; each of which must be
maintained for the organ as a whole to function
properly.
The Liver and Pancreas
4. Complex protective mechanisms exist to protect
the anatomical and physiological integrity of each
organ.
5. The concept of irreducible complexity extends to
the body as a whole when the intricate inter-organ
relationships between the liver, pancreas and
other organs are considered.
The Liver and Pancreas
Theological Applications
1. Commonality in organ systems that exists between
species does not necessarily indicate that one
species evolved from another. Such similarities can
be more readily explained by a COMMON CREATOR
who incorporated common features of design.
2. The Liver and Pancreas as well as other organs
and the body as a whole demonstrate a sheer
universality of perfection; and to whatever depth
we look, we find an elegance and ingenuity of
absolute transcending quality and quantity.
The Liver and Pancreas
3. Is it really credible that the totally random and
purposeless process of evolution could have
constructed a reality that is the very antithesis of
chance?
4. “As a surgeon, when I open up the abdomen and see
organs of such intricacy, I realize that there simply
has not been enough time for natural evolutionary
processes to have developed them.”
C. Everett Koop MD
Surgeon General
The Liver and Pancreas
Final Thoughts
Every human body is a miracle exceeding our
comprehension. The complexity and dimension
involved stagger our minds and strain our ability to
apprehend its grandeur. Yet, as we make the noble
effort to search for the meaning behind the biology,
We are edified on multiple levels:
* We see the power and precision of God.
* We are increasingly aware of the intimacy with
which He carries out His creative acts.
The Liver and Pancreas
* We are reminded that God has a triple claim on our
lives as creator, sustainer, and redeemer.
* We, therefore, relinquish our Body back to Him;
yielding to the One who cares for us more than we
ourselves…
* And in this glad surrender, we find Purpose,
Freedom, Joy, Hope and Love.