PROFESSOR SIMONDS LECTURE ON THE DISEASES, ETC., OF THE LIVER. 
305 
PROFESSOR SIMONDS' LECTURE ON THE DIS- 
EASES, &c, OF THE LIVER. 
The following lecture on the " Structure, Func- 
tions, and Diseases of the Liver in Domesticated 
Animals," as lately delivered before the Royal 
Agricultural Society of England, by professor 
Simonds, is well worthy of perusal by the farm- 
ers of this country, as his explanations of facts 
observed in common farm practice suggests a 
remedy for diseases heretofore thought incura- 
ble:— 
The liver is one of the most important of the 
internal organs, as it separates injurious matter 
from the blood. Food entering into the stomach 
is digested; it then passes into the intestinal 
canal, where it is mixed with the bile and pan- 
creatic juice; and it is by the combined action 
of these fluids upon the chymous mass that its 
change into nutriment is effected. As to the 
anatomy of the liver, it is one of the largest or- 
gans, and is denominated a " gland," because it 
separates fluid from the blood. In one impor- 
tant respect, however, it differs from all other 
glands, namely, in separating the fluid from im- 
pure or venous blood. 
The liver of animals differs in size without 
reference to their bulk, that of herbivorous 
animals being generally the smallest. The 
human frame has several cavities, each con- 
taining important parts of the viscera ; thus the 
heart is in the chest — the stomach, &c, in the 
abdomen, which is divided from the chest by a 
membrane termed the diaphragm. Anatomists 
divide the abdomen into regions, by means of 
two transverse lines drawn from the inferior 
rib to its opposite, and from hip to hip ; and 
also by two vertical lines. The whole arrange- 
ment may be figured thus, and the spaces are 
named as follows: 1, right hypo- 
chondriac region ; 2, left do. ; 3, 
epigastric ; 4, umbilical ; 5, right 
lumbar ; 6, left do. ; 7, hypogas- 
tric ; 8, right iliac ; 9, left iliac. 
The hypochondriac regions are 
so named because they lie be- 
Fig. 79. neath the cartilage of the ribs. 
The umbilical, because it contains the navel. 
The epigastric, because it is above the stomach. 
The hypogastric, because it is under the stom- 
ach. The liver is situated in the middle one of 
the three great regions, termed upper, middle, 
and lower; sometimes stretching up into the 
epigastric region. It is divided into lobes. In 
horses, it consists of a right and left lobe, with a 
lobus cislatus, or notch-lobed, in the centre. In 
the ox and sheep, the notches are absent, and 
there are three lobes — right, left, and middle. 
In some animals, there is an appendage called 
the " gall bladder ;" but the horse has none. Its 
absence is not confined to any particular tribe, 
as it is found in some of the deer tribe, and not 
in others. This receives secretion from the 
liver; but is not necessary to the life of ani- 
mals, as horses, and some other species do with- 
out. 
The liver being a secreting gland, and receiv- 
ing much impure blood, has veins from nearly 
all the organs entering into it The anterior 
1 1 
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7 
V 
and posterior mesenteric veins, (from the large 
and small intestines,) and the splenetic, pancre- 
atic and gastric veins, (from the spleen, pan- 
creas, and stomach,) combine to form the vena 
porta, which conveys the blood into the mid- 
dle lobe of the liver. Thus, there is a constant 
conveyance into this organ, of matters in the 
blood, which are not essential to the general 
well-being, but only to the heat of the animal. 
The vena porta? comports itself like an artery ; 
that is, it splits up into a number of veins so 
minute as to be named capillaries, which trav- 
erse the liver in every part; and it is in these 
that secretion takes place. The liver is also 
excretory. For, in the foetal life in some ani- 
mals, it receives the whole of the blood before 
it passes into the foetus. The veins pass through 
the portal canal, which is lined with cellular 
tissue ; the veins, biliary ducts, and arteries lie 
in a triple form, thus : ° ° with cellular tissue 
upon them ; an arrangement which the lecturer 
very aptly illustrated by a reference to three 
drain pipes in a trench bedded down with straw. 
The various vessels split up into lobules, the 
veins and ducts being named inter-lobular, &c, 
according as they are within or between the 
lobules. So much for the anatomy. 
The blood is purified by the bile which is se- 
creted in the biliary ducts, the latter liquid ex- 
erting an influence upon the ligneous and starchy 
portions of the food, converting them into sugar; 
and this being soluble is suitable for nourishing 
the system. Within a few months past, experi- 
ments have been undertaken in this and other 
countries to ascertain what is the precise action 
of the pancreas and liver ; and it has been found 
that, although the pancreas chiefly are engaged 
in forming sugar, yet the liver also, does the 
same; and thus it has been shown, in opposition 
to Liebig and others, that an animal is capable 
of generating a chemical principle, namely, 
sugar. The bile cells contain fat, and the liver 
has much sugar, from which fat is derived, there 
being a new light thrown upon the formation of 
fat in animals by this modern theory. Bile not 
only acts upon the food, but is also excrementi- 
tioua. The coloring matter of the bile is found 
in the intestinal canal ; and if there be too much 
here, the effect is diarrhoea. 
Having briefly touched upon the physiology, 
we now come to the diseases of the liver. This 
organ, like all others, is liable to derangement 
and structural changes. Its functions are very 
soon deranged, especially by placing the ani- 
mal in a high temperature. Hence, in tropical 
climates, liver diseases abound, and animals are 
peculiarly subject to such maladies during the 
summer. Now, there is one disease of the liver 
called jaundice, which depends often on func- 
tional derangement, sometimes upon structural 
changes, or obstruction ; in fact there are three 
or four causes for it. This shows the necessity 
of consulting some individual who has made 
such things his study, and who is able to detect 
each of these causes. Whereas, to the unprac- 
tised, the effects of these may appear alike. If 
the character of the secretions depend upon the 
purity of the blood, and if this again depend on 
