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The liver is the metabolic center of the human body. According to modern medicine, the functions of the liver include:

• Synthesis: Synthesizing various functional proteins and hormones, such as albumin, clotting factors, insulin-like growth factors, and more.
• Removing toxins: Engulfing, breaking down, or transforming various toxic chemicals, drugs, alcohol, bacteria, etc., and then expelling them from the body.
• Metabolism: Converting excess glucose into glycogen for storage, storing excess triglycerides as fat, and storing various vitamins and minerals, which are released when the body is deficient.
• Cholesterol metabolism: 80% of the body's cholesterol is synthesized by the liver and primarily broken down in the liver.
• Secreting bile to aid in the absorption of fats, fat-soluble vitamins, and trace elements in the intestines.
• Breaking down old red blood cells.

However, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) 's understanding of the liver's functions does not entirely align with modern medical discoveries. For example, Liver Governing Free Flow of Qi, which stems from the fact that ancient rudimentary anatomy could not delve into the subtle mechanisms within organs. Instead, it relied on observation, correlation, and analogy to link many externally observed signs with internal organs. In reality, the organs themselves may not possess those functions; those functions might be provided by another group of tissues with similar attributes. Therefore, the zang-fu organs in TCM are actually a comprehensive system of related functions, which can be seen as generalized zang-fu organs, not solely the functions of the physical internal organs themselves.