The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-03-25

A bi-monthly meeting of tho Chicago
Womans Physiological institute--a society
OF women bent on knowing more about the
human body, and thus, how better to keep il
healthy--was held in the lecture.room of the
Athen@um on Deaborn street ut o'clock
on yesterday afternoon. There were perhaps
twenty present. Mre. Helen S. Shedd
presided.
Mrs. Eliza Adams was admitted to Nom.
bership in tho organization, and then thu
chair introduced Professor w. X. Harrison,
of Bennett Medical college, who delivered nm
interesting and practically beneficial lecture
on secretion of the Liver and Kidnoys.',
The.liver, he said, was the largest glsndin the
body, weighing three or pounds, and lying
on the RICH. side in contact with tho dia.
phragm. For better illustration, the
professor extracted from his over.
coat pocket cast of human
liver wherewith he proceeded TO demonstrate
from al inspection of the under side, that
the organ under discussion ID divided into
two lobes, and that at tho "Dstch" indicat.
ing the separation there enters large ven
called by ancient Esculapians "tho portal"
The only other noticeable feature OF tho liver
was yellow sack on the under sde-the
all.blAdder. After exhibiting another din
gram Of dissec,ed human anatomy showing
the geographical location of the liyor--so TO
speak--tho doctor remarked parenthotically
that this organ is sometimes seriously dis
placed by the uso Of stays" and then
explained the compositions of tho organ in
question. II consisted, no said, of minute
globules and was VII covered with a film or
coating. The blood in the human body that
happened to get in AT 'lhe portal' was tho
blood that lett tho gall secretion. The gate
customarily closed up after digestion, and
so remained until digestion began sgair,
when 1t reopened TO receive another oousign.
ment of blood. The amount of bile secreled
In twenty.four hours had been variously
estimated ut from three to four pounds, but M
10 its attributes IL was very definitely known
to DO Of Il golden yellow hue and decidedly
bitter 10 the TASTE. 1t WAS very interesting
question. What becomes of the gall when
discharged from tho liver into tho lntestines?
The popular notion with regard to tho bile
was that 1t is entirely excrematious, but
though psychologists disagreed on the subject
1t had been very definitely determined that
the gall is not entirely useless, but passes
forth into tho blood 10 form now and hea TIL
sustaining combinations When bile was in
excess in the system IL caused diarrhUa, and
when II was checked in quantity or now,
jaundice ensued. Though the functions of
the liver were still quito in doubt, it had beon
ascerlaned "for sure" that the old idea that
tho liver's chief business Is TO secre,e bile
was essentially erroneous. Tho truth of the
business was that the primo concern of tho
liver was TO store up nutriment to give il
forth sgain when moro needed. This theo-
rem the professor demonstrated by briefly
deno,ing tho various chemical elements, such
as starch, sugar, and albumon, and tracing
the different routes they take allor leayiDg
tho liver and ramilying through the body.
Summing his conclusions nj length, no pro.
claimed That the business of the liver is, first,
to collect nutriment MS into slora-houso,
and, second, TO give IL forth when digestion
Is finished and tho tissues need replenNhing
for tho prosecution of thoir work through
periods of fasting, Science had dissipsted
the old notion that tho liver is only an un-
accountable dispensa,ion of Provide &c, and
ought 10 DO "shook up" every spring.