LIVE-LONG. Digestive candy. See Candying.
LIV′ER. Syn. Hepar, L. A large abdominal viscus, the exclusive duty of which, until recently, was stated by physiologists to be to secrete bile; but the secretion of sugar for combustion in the lungs or capillaries is now said to be one of its chief duties. The liver is subject to several diseases, both functional and organic, among which inflammation (hepatitis) holds the most prominent place. The acute form of this disease is ushered in with pain in the region of the liver, with sickness, costiveness, and a strong, hard, and frequent pulse, with great pain about the clavicle and shoulders. There is cough, oppressed breathing, and often vomiting of bilious matter. The urine is scanty, and of a saffron-yellow colour, and the skin and eyes are also tinged yellow. The treatment consists chiefly in purging with salines accompanied with mercurials, the use of antimonials, and a blister applied over the region of the liver. Bitter tonics, as calumba, cascarilla, and gentian may afterwards be had recourse to; and if the patient resides in a hot climate a change to a temperate one should be made, if possible. Chronic hepatitis requires similar treatment, but of a less active character. The more usual causes of diseases of the liver, besides those common to the other viscera, are residence in a hot climate, and the excessive use of highly seasoned food and alcoholic liquors.
Liv′er. Syn. Hepar, L. In chemistry and pharmacy, a term formerly applied to numerous substances, on account of their colour; as liver of antimony (HEPAR ANTIMONII), liver of sulphur (HEPAR SULPHURIS), &c.
Liver, Edible. The livers of animals, such as the bullock, the calf, and the sheep, contain a large amount of nitrogenous matter,[23] as may be seen from the following analysis by Payen:
[23] Hence the instinct that leads man to cook it with a food rich in carbon—such as fat bacon.
Composition of Calf’s Liver.
| Nitrogenous matter | 20·10 |
| Fat | 3·58 |
| Carbo-hydrates (amyloid matter) | 0·45 |
| Saline matter | 1·54 |
| Water | 72·33 |
| ——— | |
| 98·03 |
They are generally regarded as indigestible articles of diet, and as such should be avoided by dyspeptics.
It is of great importance to have the livers of animals thoroughly cooked, so as to ensure the destruction of a dangerous parasite—the Distoma hepatica, the liver fluke—that frequently infests them.
The foie gras, of which the celebrated Strasbourg pie is made, is the abnormally enlarged or, rather, diseased liver of the goose, brought to its enormous size and fatty condition by subjecting the bird to close confinement in a hot place and overfeeding it.