1188 THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



which the liver is composed. Each lobule is a small irregular or polygonal 

 area, measuring from ^V^h to rV tn f an i ncn i n diameter, or 1 to 2 mm., with a 

 partial covering of line connective tissue, forming a delicate stroma. 



In the adult, the liver weighs from 3 to 3J pounds, or about ^_th of the body 

 weight, and it is somewhat heavier in the male than in the female, its weight in 

 the former being from 50 to 55 ounces and in the latter 43 to 48 ounces. The 

 ratio to the body weight is the same in both sexes. In the foetus and child it 

 is relatively very large and heavy. At birth it occupies the greater part of the 

 abdominal cavity, and constitutes from -^th to T Vth of the body weight. In the 

 young foetus the ratio is even larger. 



The average size of the liver may be briefly expressed as follows : It measures in the trans- 

 verse direction about seven inches (17*5 cm.) ; in the vertical, six to seven inches (15 to 17*5 cm.) ; 

 and in the antero-posterior, on the right side where greatest, about six inches (15 cm.). Its 



Vena cava inferior 



Lig. coronarium hepatis 

 Bare area 



ulare sinistrum 



Lig. falciforme hepatis 

 Lig. teres hepatis 



~~ Fund us vesicse felleee 



FIG. 936. LIVER VIEWED FROM THE FRONT. 



greatest width, measured obliquely from side to side along the inferior or visceral surface, is ten 

 inches (25 cm.). 



The liver is capable of being greatly distended by fluid forced into its blood-vessels. Its 

 surface then becomes tense, and the consistence of the whole organ becomes much firmer. 



Shape. If the liver is hardened in situ and then removed from the body, it 

 will be found to present a form which is fairly constant, but which is modified 

 by the shape and size of the adjacent viscera, and hence shows minor variations 

 in different individuals. 



If the liver has not been hardened, it does not retain, after removal, the shape 

 and form which it had when it lay in the abdomen, but tends to collapse into 

 a flattened cake-like mass. 



The description of the shape, surfaces, and borders given below is drawn from 

 examination of specimens hardened in situ. 



The liver possesses three principal surfaces, a superior, a posterior and an 

 inferior or visceral. 



The fades superior is in contact chiefly with the rounded vault of the abdominal 

 cavity, and hence it is uniformly rounded and convex. 



The fades posterior, directed backwards, is in contact with the structures 



