DR. LEGEAR'S STOCK BOOK. 81 



DISEASES OF THE LIVER. 



Diseases of the liver are very rare, and they are very hard to 

 diagnose when they do take place. A horse has no gall-bladder, 

 which is one reason he seldom has any liver derangement. Dis- 

 eases of the liver are more frequently seen in the Southern coun- 

 try than up North, but they are rare here. The bile, in the horse, 

 as soon as it is secreted, is emptied right into the bowels, and not 

 stored in the gall-bladder, as in man and other animals. The 

 liver is the largest secreting gland in the body, weighing, in the 

 horse, 10 or 12 pounds. It secretes the bile and gets rid of cer- 

 tain effete materials from the system. Bile acts as a laxative, 

 stimulating the peristaltic action of the bowels. In derangement 

 of the' liver there is generally constipation, and clay colored 

 feces; also jaundice (yellow appearance of the mouth and lining 

 of the eyes), which shows that the bile is not being secreted from 

 the blood. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER. 



We will here give a brief description of this trouble, as some 

 reader of this book may be benefited thereby. It is seen more in 

 horses that are fed high, and have very little to do. It may be 

 caused by feeding highly on stimulating food during the hot 

 weather. Injuries on the right side over the liver may cause in- 

 flammation. 



Symptoms. There may be dullness, and more or less ab- 

 dominal pain; the animal laying down on the left side most of 

 the time. Constipation, clay-colored feces, if any be passed, and 

 the urine is high colored and scanty. Pressure on the right side 

 jn>t back of the last rib may cause pain. The lining of the 



