FETAL LIVER.
The liver is the first-formed organ in the embryo. It is developed from the alimentary canal, and at about the third week fills the whole abdomen, and is one half the weight of the entire embryo. At the fourth month the liver is of immense size in proportion to the bulk of the fetus. At birth it is of very large size, and occupies the whole upper part of the abdomen. The left lobe is as large as the right, and the falciform ligament corresponds with the middle line of the body. The liver diminishes rapidly after birth, probably from obliteration of the umbilical vein.