CAUSES OF DISEASES OF LIVER. 13 



malformations ; these arise partly from deformities of the 

 thorax, from disease of the hepatic tissue, from tumours, 

 cancer, abscesses, hydatids, and from tight lacing. The 

 liver may also be entirely dislodged or dislocated from 

 its natural position. The most frequent cause of this is 

 undoubtedly ti'jht /<////>//. which forces the gland down- 

 wards even as far as the pubis. Lateral dislocations 

 likewise take place from pulmonary emphysema, from 

 effusions into the right or left pleural cavity, from peri- 

 cardial effusions, and from eccentric hypertrophies of 

 the heart. 



CAUSES OF DISEASES OF THE LIVER. 



IN order to avoid unnecessary repetition, whilst con- 

 sidering the divers forms of hepatic derangements, we 

 shall here glance at the most prominent CAUSES, which 

 the experience of many observers have found to occasion 

 t IHMII. Tii<-(; causes may produce various effects, or 

 allied effects, according to the TKMI-KKAMKNT, CONSTITU- 

 TION, and mode of living of the individuals prone to 

 such disord< : 



AGE. As regards age, it has been found that diseases 

 of the liver seldom occur until after puberty, unless it 

 :l<livn <>f Kuropoans residing in the East 

 I in lies, or other inter-tropical climate. 



NT. The sanguine, sanguine-melancholic, 

 the irritable, and those of a scrofulous diathesis, are 

 more frequently attacked with liver diseases than others. 

 In the young, and the middle-aged, the diseases are 

 acute and inflammatory ; at more advanced periods, 

 they are most frequently congestive and structural. 



