

EFFECTS ON THE LIVER 33 I 



Lucas (1826) reported that in mammals (guinea pig) the liver may appear 

 normal, even after long fasting. Collard de Martigny (1828) in starved dogs 

 and rabbits found the liver small and anemic, and the gall-bladder distended 

 with bile. Tiedemann ('36) cited numerous earlier investigators who observed 

 an abundance of bile in the bile-passages of starved animals. 



Chossat ('43) found that in pigeons on total inanition with average loss of 

 about 40 per cent in body weight the liver lost 52 per cent. 



Heumann ('50) was apparently the first to study the microscopic changes in 

 the liver of the pigeon during inanition, finding the cells decreased in size and 

 containing smaller granules. Statkewitsch ('94) says Heumann noted a fatty 

 and granular degeneration. Jones ('56) and Beale ('60) are said to have observed 

 fatty degeneration of the liver cells in fasting animals; and Rindfleisch ('68) 

 figured the changes in the cell structure. 



Bidder and Schmidt ('52) found an apparent loss of 59.6 per cent in the liver 

 of a cat starved with loss of about 50 per cent in body weight. Voit ('66) also 

 found that in the cat during starvation the liver loses in weight relatively more 

 than the body as a whole. 



Manassein ('68, '69) observed that during starvation the liver appears atro- 

 phic and variably hyperemic; the gall-bladder distended. In 47 adult rabbits 

 with average loss of 39 per cent in body weight, the loss in liver weight averaged 

 66 per cent. In 8 rabbits 3% months old, with loss of 33 per cent in body weight, 

 the liver lost 53 per cent; in 3 rabbits 23-25 days old, with loss of 35 per cent 

 in body weight, the liver lost 59 per cent. In 5 adult rabbits amply refed after 

 a period of starvation, the liver appeared 42 per cent above normal weight. 

 The average loss in liver weight in 2 starved cats was 69 per cent; and in 2 crows, 

 46 per cent. 



Manassein also measured the diameters of the rabbit liver-cells, finding the 

 normal average 0.0223 mm. (range 0.015-0.033); in starvation, 0.0089 (0.006- 

 0.018) mm.; and on refeeding, 0.0252 (0.015-0.0345) mm. During starvation 

 the liver-cells not only decrease in size, but apparently degenerate, with various 

 degrees of granulation and nuclear disappearance, and (in extreme cases) final 

 complete cell disintegration, the fat collecting in large free droplets. 



Bourgeois ('70) in numerous starved mammals (guinea pig, rabbit, cat, dog) 

 with average loss of about 40 per cent in body weight, found a loss of 52 per cent 

 in the liver. The liver appeared anemic and reddish-yellow in color, with dis- 

 tended gall-bladder. Lepine ('74) described a fatty degeneration of the liver- 

 cells during inanition. Carville and Bochefontaine ('74, '75) in a dog starved 

 27 days found no fatty degeneration, but a finely granular degeneration in the 

 liver-cells. Falck ('75) found considerable fat content in the liver-cells of fast- 

 ing dogs, but not more than in normal animals. Falck ('81) cited data from 

 Stackman indicating that in fasting cats the liver loses relatively more than the 

 entire body. 



Kayser ('79) studied in Heidenhain's laboratory the liver-cells of mammals 

 during digestion and fasting. With alcoholic fixation and carmine or hematoxy- 

 lin stains, the cells during inanition appeared reduced in size, with poorly 

 staining nuclei which are obscured by the cloudy, granular cytoplasm. The 



