where is your liver located in your body
Your liver is located in the upper right part of your abdomen, just under your right rib cage, below the diaphragm, and next to your stomach.
Quick Scoop: Where your liver sits
Think of your liver as a big, busy “filter station” tucked up high on the right side of your tummy.
- It’s in the right upper quadrant of your abdomen.
- It lies just under the diaphragm (the muscle that helps you breathe).
- Most of it is protected by your lower right ribs.
- It sits to the right of your stomach and above the gallbladder and right kidney.
A simple way to picture it: place your right hand over the area just below your right breast/ribs; that’s roughly where your liver lives.
Mini breakdown: How doctors describe the spot
Doctors often describe liver location using “quadrants” of the abdomen.
- Main position: Right upper quadrant (RUQ).
- Extent: It stretches from about the fifth rib area down to the right costal (rib) margin in the midclavicular line (a vertical line from the middle of your collarbone).
- It has a large right lobe and a smaller left lobe that crosses a bit toward the left side.
So while the liver is mostly on the right, a small part can extend toward the center and slightly into the left upper side.
Quick table: Liver location at a glance
| Feature | Where it is |
|---|---|
| Main side | Right side of upper abdomen (right upper quadrant). | [7][3][5]
| Covered by | Mainly under the lower right ribs, just below the diaphragm. | [1][7][3]
| Nearby organs | Next to the stomach, above the gallbladder and right kidney. | [9][1][3][5]
| Shape/size note | Largest internal organ, two main lobes (right larger, left smaller). | [1][3][5]
How you might feel where it is
In everyday terms, people sometimes notice liver-related discomfort:
- As a fullness or dull ache under the right ribs.
- Occasionally felt in the right upper abdomen or right side of the back/shoulder , depending on the issue.
This doesn’t mean every twinge there is the liver, but that’s the general territory doctors think about when they check liver-related problems.
Tiny story to make it stick
Imagine your torso as a two-story “body house”:
The diaphragm is like the ceiling between the chest “floor” (with lungs and heart) and the abdominal “floor.”
Your liver is the big, hard‑working machine sitting just under that ceiling on the right side, taking up most of the space behind the right ribs, with a smaller part stretching toward the middle.
If you remember “right side, under ribs, under diaphragm,” you’ve basically nailed where your liver is located in your body.
TL;DR: Your liver is mostly on the upper right side of your abdomen, under your right ribs and just below your diaphragm, with a smaller part reaching toward the center.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.