THE BILE. 



95 



part except where the lobules are not quite in contact with 

 each other ; and the liver in this state is called a nutmeg liver. 



When still greater, the whole of each lobule is red. 



Congestion beginning in the vena 

 portae is very rare, and the outer 

 portion of the lobules is then red, 

 while the central, in which the he- 

 patic veins lie, remains pale. 



" It has been disputed whether the bile is produced from arterial 

 or venous blood. 



" The former opinion is countenanced by the analogy of the 

 other secretions which depend upon arterial blood ; nevertheless 

 more accurate investigation proves that the greater part, if not 

 the whole, of the biliary secretion is venous. 



" With respect to arguments derived from analogy, the vena 

 portae, resembling arteries in its distribution, may likewise bear a 

 resemblance to them in function. Besides, the liver is analogous 



n Phil. Trans. 1833. 



" This has found an advocate in Rich. Powel, On the Site and its Diseases. 

 Lond. 1801. 8vo." 



H 2 



