CHAPTEK XXXIII 



THE LIVER 



THE Liver, the largest gland in the body, situated in the abdomen on 

 the right side chiefly, is an extremely vascular organ, and receives its 

 supply of blood from two distinct sources, viz., from the portal vein 

 and from the hepatic artery, while the blood is returned from it into 



FIG. 401. The under surface of the liver. G. B., gall-bladder; H. D., common bile-duct; H. A., hepatic 

 artery ; v. P., portal vein ; L. Q., lobulus quadratus ; L. s., lobulus spigelii; L. c., lotulus caudatus ; 

 r>. v., ductus venosus; u. v., umbilical vein. (Noble Smith.) 



the vena cava inferior by the hepatic veins. Its secretion, the bile, is 

 conveyed from it by the hepatic duct, either directly into the intestine, 

 or, when digestion is not going on, into the cystic duct, and thence 

 into the gall-bladder, where it accumulates until required. The 

 portal vein, hepatic artery, and hepatic duct branch together through- 

 out the liver, while the hepatic veins and their tributaries run by 

 themselves. 



On the outside, the liver has an incomplete covering of peritoneum, 

 and beneath this is a very fine coat of areolar tissue, continuous over 



502 



