Chap. XIV] THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM 



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the liver, and (2) the gall bladder fissure, which supports the gall 

 bladder. Both these fissures are in the under surface of the liver. 

 Lobes. — The liver is divided into five lobes : — 



1. Right (largest lobe). 



2. Left (smaller and wedge-shaped). 



3. Quadrate (square). 



4. Caudate (tail-like). 



5. Spigelian. 



Vessels. — The liver has five sets of vessels : — 



1. Branches of portal vein. 



2. Hepatic veins. 



3. Bile ducts. 



4. Branches of hepatic artery. 



5. Lymphatics. 



Minute anatomy of liver. — The liver may be regarded as made 

 up of many minute livers called lobules. Each lobule is an ir- 

 regular body about one-twelfth inch (2 mm.) in diameter, com- 

 posed of a multitude of hepatic cells packed so closely together 



Fig. 161. — Diagrammatic Representation of two Hepatic Lobules. 

 The left-hand lobule is represented with the intralobular vein cut across ; in the 

 right-hand one the section takes the course of the intralobular vein, p, interlobular 

 branches of the portal vein ; /i, intralobular branches of the hepatic veins ; s, sub- 

 lobular vein. The arrows indicate the direction of the course of the blood. The 

 liver-cells are only represented in one part of each lobule. 



that only enough room is left between them for the passage of 

 vessels and nerves. Thus each lobule is a mass of hepatic cells, 

 pierced everywhere with a network of blood capillaries. 



