Diseases of the Liver. 415 



A supporting bandage on the abdomen is always useful as 

 counteracting the tendency to vacuity and further transudation. 



A course of bitters and iron, and a supporting diet, and out 

 door life (sunshine) are important elements in treatment. 



DISEASES OF THE LIVER. 



In veterinary and medical works the diseases of the liver have 

 been accorded a minor place, ill in keeping with the great 

 physiological importance of the organ. If the function of the 

 liver were circumscribed by the mere secretion of bile there would 

 be some excuse for the apparent neglect, as the gland is so deeply 

 situated and so much enveloped in surrounding organs that 

 physical exploration is difficult and somewhat unsatisfactory, and 

 the one symptom of jaundice was long relied on as indicating 

 hepatic disorder. 



Taking into account all the varied functions of the liver we 

 realize the wide- reaching nature of its physiological influence and 

 the extensive and varied effect of its disorders. We can also 

 deduce, with greater or lesser certainty, the existence of hepatic 

 disorders from the morbid conditions of the blood or of organs, 

 the functions of which are inter-dependent with those of the 

 liver. To elucidate the subject it is well to trace some of the 

 most prominent functions of the liver ; the following considera- . 

 tions are submitted. 



