... convert-ing substances from one form into another (glycogeninto glucose and vice versa), secreting substances into the intestines (bile and cholesterol), and producing plasmaproteins (albumin, ... food.Organisms burrow into the intestinal wall and spreadup the portal vein to infect the liver.Toxic Liver InjuryInjury from toxins or drugs should always be suspected in liver disease because the liver ... of the head of the pancreas, pancreatitis, inflammatory disease of the ducts, and postoperative scarring. In industrialized na-tions, most gallstones form in the gallbladder, but in Asia there...