The liver is relatively large, weighing usually about 5 per cent. of the
body-weight. It is divided into six or seven =lobes= by fissures which
converge at the portal fissure. When the gland is examined in the soft
condition, all the lobes are visible on the visceral surface, but
usually only four on the parietal surface.
The =left lateral lobe= is the largest, and is oval in outline. The
=left central lobe= is much smaller and is prismatic. The =right central
lobe= is second in size, and presents a somewhat tongue-shaped quadrate
lobe, marked off by the deep fissure in which the gall-bladder lies. The
=right lateral lobe= is third in size, and is oval in outline. On its
visceral surface is the large =caudate lobe=; this consists of two
parts—on the right, the caudate process; on the left, the papillary
process or lobe, both often being subdivided by fissures.
[Illustration: