280 



Elementary Biology. 



In reality the duct from the liver opens into the gall- 

 bladder, from which in turn the true bile-duct arises, open- 

 ing into the alimentary canal in that region known as the 

 duodenum. 



Bile is, in the frog, a greenish-yellow viscid fluid, highly 

 antiseptic in character, and for that reason of service in pre- 

 venting putrefaction of the intestinal contents. It performs 

 the additional function of serving to assist in rendering 



FIG. 143. T\VO LIVER LOBULES (SEMI-DIAGRAMMATIC). (Qualn.) 



h, h, intralobular vein ; /, interlobular (portal) veins ; .?, sublobular 

 (hepatic) vein. The arrows represent the course of the blood. Liver- 

 cells are represented in one part of each lobule. 



fatty substances in the intestine capable of being absorbed 

 through the intestinal wall. The formation of bjle is, how- 

 ever, by no means the only function which the liver has to 

 perform. Probably its chief function is to act as a manu- 

 factory and storehouse for glycogen, or animal starch. The 

 physiology of the so-called glycogenic function of the liver 

 is, however, not yet fully understood. 



The arrangement of blood-vessels in the liver is of the 



