Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-11-03
|LIVER-ORGAN OF MYSTERY
BY Or. w. A. EVANS.

The liver is the longest known and
the least known large organ IN the
human body. These two facts assoc
ciate themselves together rather natur-
ally. The organ is so large. so easily
observed at autopsy. so much in evil
dence when the bodies of the lower
animals are opened up that men began
to notice 1t. observe it. and write
about III in the days of little knOWl-
edge.
speculate. In consequence the liver
got into religion, poetry. speculative
philosophy. into nearly every field ex-
cept the field of cold facts. Sometimes
1t is a mistake to know about things
before one is ready to comprehend
them.
The liver is on the right upper side
about an inch below the border OF the
ribs. This region is known as the
right hy-pochondriac region. because the
lower portion Of the i've occupies 1T.
1t crosses over the middle line and oc-
cupies a small part of the correspond
ing territory on the left side.
In the adult the liver weighs three
to four pounds-almost LAO of the
entire weight of the body. Its bulk is
about 95 cubic inches.
The blood which is collected from the
stomach and irtestines is gathered into
large veins. and these pour into one
large vein called the portal vein. which
carries the blood from the digestive
organs to the liver. Here this vein
breaks up into very small capillaries.
Every liver cell is surrounded by small
capillaries and every small capillary
Is walled by liver cells.
Obviously the work of the liver cells
mas to do with the blood that has just
come from he digestive organs. One
or the functions is to take from the
portal blood the bile just absorbed from
the intestines.
n is done because the blood has
no work for he bile to do. In fact.
bile in the blood would do great harm.
and therefore there must be some pro-
vision to remove it. In the second
place the intestines need bile. and
there must be some provision to take
1t from where it would do great harm
and conduct 1t to the intestines where
1T a do good.
However. the really important func-
tlon or the liver is not the formation
of bile. The important work has to do
with n conversion of food into forms
which can be used by the tissues. The
pile ducts begin as tiny tubes between
!iver cells. These run out of the liver
looules and join with other ducts,
Wnicn finally form n large duct by
which the bile is carried to the intes-
tines.
The blood. having been acted upon
ny she liver cells. is gathered up by
the veins and .emptied into a large
vein. by which 1t is carried to the
neart-the organ which pumps 1t
everywhere throughout the body.
A cream separator has n inlet and
two outlets. Milk is poured into the
inlet. The machine separates the milk
INTO two parts. Out Of one spout cream
ponrs; out Of theo other. skim milk.
me liver has one inlet and two out
iets. Into n the blood fresh from the
tnsestlnes Is poured. Down the bile
trough into the intestine pours the bile.
into the blood stream from out the
ilver substance pour the digestive pro-
cells. ""e oous
The anatomy of the liver has been
H,1oMs SINCE any anatomy was known.
Anatomy Is geography. The liver is
on the north by one structure,
on the south by other structures. ami
80 on. However. it's anatomy is un-
stable. as unstable as European bound
airy lines.
The shape of the liver is largely de-
mined by external influences. A tightly
corseted woman has a liver with one
shape; a Falstaff, one with another
shape. Before birth the liver of a bahv
spreads all over the abdomen and con-
stltutes one-tenth of the total weight.
A l0-pound baby at birth has a liver
n one-half of a pound. A
nver which weights nearly four pounds.
One-tenth the total weight. 1-2O and
lao. respectively.
From the standpoint of anatomy the
liver is a creature of circumstances.
Inc microscopic anatomy or histology
VI .ne laver a been known since the
microscope was perfected. Practically
no new discovery in the minute
anatomy of the liver has been made In
the last quarter Of a century. Nobody
has put any rivers on that map.
When We come to the work OF the
lrver we enter the field of
Iheology. law. history. literature. as
well as medicine. bear the imprint of the
Iromancer retailing the story of the
liver. It bulked Sc large that at its
doors has been laid the responsibility
Tor nearly every impulse in human ex-
perience; Acts had to be explained-tha
liver had to be explained-the acts.
Science was not ready to come for
ward with h facts. Reasons must he
mad. The result: q flood Of SPECULATION.
theorizing. outright fancy. Possibly here
n there q truth was put on. Quite
certainly the composite contained more
fancy than truth.
At b present time a few facts are
Known There ID no question but that
h next 10 years will see MANY dis-
covertes In h field Of liver physoloxy.
II 70 not possible that DO large an or.
gan Y have 80 little work to do as
that which we now know about.
We know that 1t secretes bile. That
much = certain. But the present evil
dence IL that bile ID the least service
able OF all the digestive juices. It il
g to be compared with the gastric
Juice. or the panceratic. or he secre-