THE STORY OP DIGESTION 



47 



with the products of digestion in the shape of foods 

 absorbed from the intestine. On the under surface 

 of the liver lies the gall-bladder which is a store- 

 house of bile. As the liver is perpetually secreting 

 bile, and as this fluid is not constantly demanded for 

 digestive purposes, it is stored in the gall-bladder 

 whence a special duct, joining that coming from the 

 liver, conveys it to the bowel. The duties of the 



Fig. 11. FRONT VIEW OF DIGESTIVE 

 ORGANS in situ. 



liver are at least threefold. A common conception 

 of this organ is that it makes bile and does nothing 

 else. This is a highly erroneous supposition, 

 because the making of bile represents, if it may so 

 be termed, the least important labour of the organ. 

 As it has well been put, the water discharged from 

 the engines of a steamer does not represent the 

 work of the vessel, but merely the result of that 

 work. The secretion of bile similarly represents in 



