DISEASES OF THE LIVER AND SPLEEN. 89 



Biliary • calculi in the gall-bladder or its duct, inspissated 

 bile * disease of the liver— as inflammation, enlargement, con- 

 traction, schirrous tumors, abscess — ^immoderate use of pur- 

 gatives, especially aloes and calomel, repeated emetics, sud- 

 den chills after ^eat and fatigue, accumulation of f^ces. 



Symptoms, — General depression, inactivity, loss of appe- 

 tite, bowels constipated and of a light drab or clay color, or 

 relaxed, the faeces being of a greenish tint mingled with mu- 

 cus, and offensive ; urine high-colored, hot, occasionally tur- 

 bid, and stains yellow ; excessive vomition ; pulse increased, 

 contracted and hard ; the skin is hot, and, if gathered up, re- 

 mains stationary for some moments, — this is more particu- 

 larly the case towards a fatal termination. It is also of a 

 deep yellow tinge, especially on the thin parts, as over the 

 abdomen, inside the thighs, forearms and ears. The same 

 color is present on the visible mucous membranes of the eye, 

 conjunctiva, inside the lips, the gums and vagina. The 

 mouth and nose are dry and hot, the tongue furred'and 

 breath offensive. There is pain on pressure over the region 

 of the liver, with, sometimes, enlargement and hardness. 

 There is also a great disposition to somnolence, and, during 



this subject, some conclusive experiments, which have since been repeated 

 by others with similar results. The hepatic duct of a dog having been 

 tied, and the animal killed two hours afterwards, the numerous lymphatics 

 in the walls of the bile-ducts were seen to be distended with a yellow 

 fluid ; the fluid in the thoracic duct also was yellow ; and so were the in^ 

 tervening lymphatic glands. Again, two hours after the ligation of the 

 hepatic duct, the serum of blood taken from the hepatic vein was found 

 to contain much more of the coloring matter of the bile, than that of blood 

 taken from the jugular vein in the neck. That bile is capable of being 

 taken up by the absorbents is further apparent from the fact that when 

 the cystic duet is permanently shut, the bile disappears gradually, but en- 

 tirely, from the gall-bladder. 



* I have recently had two interesting cases of jaundice, one in a fox- 

 terrier, the other in a Chinese pug, arising from inspissated bile. In both 

 the disease was so far advanced, when placed under my charge, that all 

 treatment proved useless. K post-mortem examination revealed the gall- 

 ducts choked with inspissated bile. 



