ON THE DISOEDEES OP THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 141 



common ducfc receives a small branch from the pancreas 

 before terminating at the bowel at a varying distance from 

 the stomach (one to four inches). The gall-bladder is 

 almost buried in the substance of the liver when the lobes 

 lie in their normal position. The bile of the dog, as of 

 other carnivora, is yellow, it is remarkable for the fact 

 that the whole of its bilin consists of taurocholate. 



The amount of bile secreted by a dog in twenty-four 

 hours is from six to twelve drachms. Haller, from his 

 experiments, placed the average amount secreted at twelve 

 and a half drachms. The rate of secretion will depend 

 upon the digestion; while the animal is fasting no bile 

 is formed, but within a few minutes of giving food the 

 bile is secreted freely, and continues until digestion is 

 finished. 



Schwann's experiments made on dogs to determine the 

 uses of the bile, showed that if a fistula was established 

 between the gall-bladder and skin, and tbe common duct 

 tied so that the whole amount of bile secreted was poured 

 out externally, that in those animals which survived the 

 operation for any length of time, enfeebled nutrition, mus- 

 cular weakness, falling off of the hair, &c, occurred ; these 

 symptoms were aggravated the longer the animal lived ; 

 death usually took place two or three weeks after the 

 operation. In Blondlot's experiments a dog with a 

 biliary fistula lived three months ; he at first lost weight, 

 then improved, but never regained his normal condi- 

 tion. 



The liver of the dog is especially liable to disease, which 

 generally assumes the form of chronic degeneration, but in 

 tropical climates is not unfrequently acute. Diseases of 

 the liver are in this, as in other species, characterised by 

 jaundice, but when that distinctive symptom is not present, 

 they are more or less obscure forms of indigestion with a 

 tendency to anaemia. There can be no doubt that they 

 very frequently remain entirely undetected during the life 

 of the animal, and are often mistaken for other diseases, 

 especially those of the stomach. If we consider the stimu- 

 lating influence of flesh food on the liver, the largeness of 



