HOW THE ANIMAL LIVES 223 



part removed and transferred to the circulatory 

 system before the large intestine is reached. 



46. Destination of the rich Hood from the intestines 



405. The veins from the stomach and intes- 

 tines carry the rich products of digestion into 

 the capillaries of the liver. Here they not only 

 contribute to produce bile, but also new combi- 

 nations of nutritive and other compounds, which 

 pass into the general circulation. 



406. One of the most important of these new 

 products is sugar, which, as already stated (372), 

 is formed even in the liver of animals fed on a 

 strictly carnivorous diet. The importance of this 

 product may be inferred from the fact that the 

 liver is very large in the young and rapidly- 

 growing animal, and also in mature animals of 

 a meat -producing race : these animals have ex- 

 traordinary powers of digestion and fattening. 



407. Another important function of the liver 

 is the transformation, largely by union with 

 additional oxygen, of worn-out or effete red 

 globules, and of much of the useless nitrogenous 

 material in the blood, into urea and other solu- 

 ble products. These products are finally passed 

 off by the kidneys. They afford a stimulus to 

 secretion by the kidneys, and supply an abun- 

 dance of material which can pass readily through 



