The liver is the organ affected during an Hepatitis B infection. The liver is located in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen and has several important functions. The function of the liver is to remove excess glucose, which is also known as blood sugar, from the blood stream and stores it as glycogen ( a form of starch ). When the blood sugar level is low, the liver converts glycogen back into glucose and releases it for use by the body. The liver also destroys old erythrocytes, which are red blood cells, removes poisons from the blood, and manufactures some blood proteins. The liver secretes bile, a digestive juice containing enzymes that break down fat. Bilirubin is in bile. This is a pigment produced from the destruction of hemoglobin. …show more content…
Soon after HBV enters the body, it infects cells in the liver called hepatocytes. In response to this infection, the immune system targets the virus and the hepatocytes already infected with the virus. This causes inflammation of the liver (hepatitis). HBV can cause acute hepatitis, meaning short-term inflammation of the liver, until the immune system is able to clear the virus from the body, usually within six months of becoming infected with the virus. However, HBV can become a chronic infection. This means that the immune system is not able to get rid of the virus within six months after infection. In other words, the virus continues to reproduce in the person’s liver for several months or years after infection. This can increase the risk of liver damage and liver