216 DADD'S VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



from local inundation — the liver caves in from overwork, too much 

 rood, and too little discretion. A hard pull on an omnibus, or a 

 similar feat in a marketer's wagon, would be the very best medi- 

 cine in the world for a plethoric horse, or one predisposed tn 

 hepatic derangement. 



The Pancreas and its Function. 



The pancreas is a glandular body lying across the spine, in the 

 epigastric region, underneath the diaphragm, near the small curv- 

 ature of the stomach. The body of this gland is pierced by the 

 vena porta (known as the gate rein) ; has one attachment to the 

 spleen, and another to the left kidney. It is divided into head, 

 body, and tail. Structure, similar to salivary glands. Color, 

 pale red, speckled. It is composed of many lobules. Every lobe 

 has a distinct set of nerves, arteries, veins, and ducts. Every lobe 

 is, therefore, considered as a distinct gland, and the same is true 

 of the salivary glands. The duct pierces the duodenum (knewn 

 as the second stomach), alongside of the hepatic duct, 



The pancreatic arteries are derived mostly from the hepatic. 

 Several, however, come from the splenic, in its course to the lert 

 side of the abdomen, and one or two from the gastric. The veins 

 are tributary to the vena porta. The nerves come from the c&liae 

 plexus. The fluid secreted by the pancreas is a colorless, limpid 

 fluid. It forms an emulsion of fat j hence it dissolves the fatty 

 matters of the food. It is an active agent in the preparation of 

 chyle. That the pancreatic juice possesses the property of emul- 

 sifying fat is proved from the fact that when the pancreas is 

 destroyed, and the animal fed on food containing fatty matter, the 

 latter passes with the feces, just like fat in an unchanged state. 



Mr. Gamgee says: " The pancreatic juice has another impor- 

 tant use which remains to be spoken of, and that is a peculiai 

 action on nitrogenized substances. If raw meat be placed in 

 soma of the juice, the meat speedily softens and putrefies. The 

 same occurs with albumen or caseine in the raw state ; but if the 

 azotized principles are previously boiled, or acted upon by the 

 ga=tric juice, the pancreatic therefore serves many purposes, and 

 acts on every kind of aliment. 



Circumstances aifecting the digestive function in general have a 

 special influence on the pancreas, and modify its secretion. Such 



