54 Veterinary Elements. 



leaf-like processes between the lobules; each lobule is 

 made up of blood vessels, liver cells and ducts. There 

 is a peculiarity about the blood supply of the liver, com- 

 ing as it does by two vessels, the hepatic artery fetching 

 blood to nourish this important organ, the portal vein 

 bringing functional material from the intestines, namely, 

 blood, to be acted upon. The hepatic vein conveys away 

 the purified blood from the liver and empties it into the 

 general circulation. The hepatic duct conveys the bile 

 from the liver and joins the duct of the pancreas before 

 discharging its contents into the intestine. In cattle, 

 sheep and pigs the bile is stored in what is known as the 

 gall bladder; the horse has no gall bladder; bile becomes 

 concentrated in the gall bladder. In the horse the secre- 

 tion of bile seems to be continuous, a maximum amount 

 being secreted three to four hours after a meal, food exer- 

 cising an influence on the quantity. Fats are acted upon 

 by the bile, being split up into fatty acids and glycerine, 

 emulsified and then saponified, in which state they are 

 capable of being absorbed. Bile has a mildly purgative 

 action; its suppression is revealed by constipation, stink- 

 ing feces and yellowness of the mucous membranes. A 

 secreting gland of even more importance than the liver is 

 the pancreas; the reason of such importance is owing to 

 the fact that its secretion, the pancreatic juice, contains 

 ferments which are more powerful than those secretions 

 (the saliva, gastric juice and bile) heretofore discussed, 

 yet such being the case there is a relation between bile 

 and pancreatic juice. Bile being alkaline neutralizes the 

 acid (it will be remembered that the stomach contents 

 were acid) and thus assists the pancreatic secretion, 



