The Physiological and Pathological 

 Chemistry of the Liver 



LOUIS BAUMAN 



NEW YOBK 



The Normal Chemistry of the Liver 



The liver is concerned with the secretion of bile and with the chemical 

 transformation of substances in the blood which is supplied by the portal 

 vein and hepatic artery. Much of the material absorbed from the intes- 

 tines encounters the activity of the liver cells before it reaches the cells 

 of the body generally. 



The Liver and the Carbohydrates. Glucose, fructose and galactose, 

 which result from the enzymatic hydrolysis in the small intestine, of 

 starch, saccharose and lactose, respectively, may be condensed by the liver 

 and stored as glycogen. A variety of cells throughout the body can con- 

 dense glucose to glycogen, but the formation of glycogen from fructose 

 and galactose seems to be a special function of the hepatic cells. By means 

 of its glycogenic function, the liver can prevent an accumulation of sugar 

 in the blood and, conversely, it can supply glucose to the blood by rapidly 

 hydrolyzing glycogen by means of its amylolytic ferment. By this mech- 

 anism the constant glucose concentration in the blood is assured. The 

 glycogenic function of the liver is controlled by the sugar center in the 

 medulla through its afferent and efferent nerves (vagus and splanchnic). 

 Adrenalin, thyroid, various acids, phosphorus and other substances accel- 

 erate the rate of glycogen cleavage by the liver. The glycogen content of 

 the liver varies with the diet and muscular activity of the organism ; the 

 liver of a dog under ordinary conditions contains from 2 to 4 per cent of 

 glycogen, but it may contain 20 per cent, if carbohydrates are pushed to 

 excess. Several authors have noted the disappearance of sugar from 

 the blood after extirpation of the liver and in Eck fistula dogs, that had 

 been starved and then poisoned with phlorhizin (Erdelyi, Ma thews and 

 Miller). In the latter, the liver was found to be glycogen free. The pres- 

 ence of glycogen in the liver prevents the deposition of fat therein and 

 protects the organ from the deleterious influence of chloroform, alcohol, 

 phosphorus, arsenic and bacterial toxins (Davis and Whipple, Graham, 



643 



