340 



FOOD AND DIGESTION 



25 to 30 /j. in diameter, and possess one, sometimes two nuclei. The cell-sub- 

 stance contains a variable amount of glycogen and often some fatty molecules, 

 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 



FIG. 272. Section of Liver. X 80. 



P, Portal vein; H, hepatic artery; B, bile-duct, 

 drickson.) 



(Hen- 



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. 



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, while 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 

 perceptible odor; it has a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction, and its specific 

 gravity is about 1020. Its color and consistency vary much, quite independent 



