Hide and Clean
by Kim Schuelke
I’m hiding! Can you find me? Feel the spot where your ribs join. I hide under there and stretch over to your right side.
Did you know that your blood is dirty? It’s my job to clean it. I’m your liver. Your heart gives me more than three cups of blood every minute. I take out fats and chemicals, and then send the cleaned blood back to your heart. This is called circulation.
Digestion is part of my job, too. When you eat, your stomach changes the food it needs into energy. I send away what your body doesn’t need, so your blood doesn’t fill up with poisons. The cleaned blood goes back to your heart. I clean all day and night!
Do you know how to keep me working? Drink three or four glasses of water every day. Water helps me move your blood around. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, too. They help keep your whole body strong. Then we can both live to be happy and healthy!
Sources
Gray, Henry, F.R.S. Gray's Anatomy. New Yor: Bounty Books, 1937
Rudolph, Abraham M.; Rudolph, Colin D.; and Hoffman, Julien I.E., Rudolph's Pediatrics. Stanford: Appleton and Lange, 1996.
Spiro, Howard M. Clinical Gastroenterology. New York: McGraw Hill, 1993.
