;66 



FOOD AND DIGESTION 



liver, are of spheroidal form, somewhat polygonal from mutual pressure, 

 about 25 to sop in diameter, and possess one, sometimes two nuclei. The 

 cell substance contains a variable amount of glycogen and often some fatty 

 globules and possibly some granules of bile pigment. 



The bile capillaries commence between the hepatic cells, and are bounded 

 by a delicate membranous wall of their own. They appear to be always 

 bounded by hepatic cells on all sides, and are thus separated from the nearest 

 blood capillary by at least the breadth of one cell, figures 271 and 272. 



p x 



FIG. 272. Section of Liver. X 80. P, Portal vein; H, hepatic artery; B, bile-duct. 



(Hendrickson.) 



The gall-bladder, g. bl, figure 269, is a pyriform sac attached to the under 

 surface of the liver, and supported also by the peritoneum. The larger end, 

 or fundus, projects beyond the front margin of the liver, w r hile the smaller 

 end contracts into the cystic duct. It is a muscular walled reservoir covered 

 with a serous epithelium and lined by mucous membrane. The function 

 of the gall-bladder is to retain the bile during the interval of digestion. 



The Bile. The bile is a somewhat viscid fluid, of a yellow, reddish- 

 yellow, or green color, a strongly bitter taste, and, when fresh, with a scarcely 



