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Healing & Alternative Health
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care:
Signs of the Aging
Dog and Cat
Part 13:
Organs of the Abdomen: Diseases of the Liver
by Kathleen M. Carson, D.V.M
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JThe liver is not only one of the largest, but one of the most amazing, organs in your dog or cat’s body.
It is in the front part of your animals abdomen, tucked under the diaphragm (the dome-like muscle which separates the chest from the abdomen) on the right hand side. It lies on top of the stomach, right kidney and intestines.
It is rich in blood, which comes from two sources (unlike other organs, which have one): 1.) oxygenated blood which flows in from the aorta (the large artery coming from the heart) through the hepatic artery, and 2.) nutrient-rich blood which flows in from the intestines through the hepatic portal vein. (Note: hepatic = referring to the liver)
It has multiple functions:
* All the nutrients which enter through the hepatic portal vein from the intestines are processed by the liver. In this processing, the liver breaks down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into forms that are easier for the rest of the body to use.
* The liver is the major site for converting the carbohydrates and proteins which the body doesn’t need immediately into fat, which is then stored in adipose (fatty) tissues in the body.
* The liver produces bile, which flows from the liver into the duodenum (upper small intestine) though the common bile duct. There it acts as an emulsifier, allowing fats and fat-soluble nutrients in the ingested food to dissolve and be absorbed. They enter into the blood vessels which surround the intestines, ultimately ending up in the hepatic portal vein and thence into the liver. (See above under blood supply.) Until it is needed, the bile is stored in the gall bladder, a sac-like organ which nestles against the bottom side of the liver. The bile also helps the intestines carry away waste (such as detoxified substances - see immediately below). It also is what causes the stools (feces or bowel movements) to be brownish in color.
* It breaks down toxic substances, rendering them harmless to the body. The damaging substances it detoxifies come both from inside the body, such as byproducts of metabolism (like ammonia), and from outside the body, such as pesticides, herbicides, food preservatives, food colorings, and drugs. After being broken down, these substances are blended with the bile, which then exits the body through the intestines.
* The liver makes certain proteins which are an important part of blood plasma (the solid part of the blood). Albumin, the major plasma protein, is synthesized almost exclusively by the liver. Among other things, albumin helps regulate the movement of water from the bloodstream into the body’s tissues. Another blood protein made by the liver is globin, one of the two components that form hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying part of red blood cells (RBCs). Lastly, it makes proteins called globulins, an important component of which are antibodies, a crucial part of the immune system.
* It helps the body to resist infections by not only producing the immunoglobulins referred to above, but by removing bacteria from the blood stream.
* It converts excess glucose (a type of sugar) into a substance called glycogen. This process is called glycogenesis. As glycogen, it can be stored in the liver until the body needs it. Then, when needed, the liver reconverts the glycogen into glucose (glycogenolysis), which is used by the body for energy for its various metabolic processes. If the stored glycogen gets totally used up, the liver synthesizes more glucose out of such things as amino acids. This latter process is called gluconeogenesis.
* It metabolizes fat-soluble vitamins: Vitamin A, D, E, and K. It stores these vitamins as well as the water-soluble B vitamins. It also stores the mineral iron, which it gets from hemoglobin.
* It assists in the making of hormones.
* It makes most of the body’s supply of the substances called clotting factors, which cause the blood to coagulate when injury occurs.
* It is one of the places in the body where red blood cells (RBCs) and white blood cells (WBCs) are made and stored. In fact, the liver holds about 13 percent of the body's blood supply at any given moment.
Because it has so many functions which are crucial to the body, the liver has a tremendous ability to regenerate. Even if a large amount of it is destroyed or removed, if the remaining liver tissue is healthy, the liver will regrow and resume most of its functions.
The diseases of the liver are of four types: 1.) inflammatory (from certain chemicals, autoimmune disease, etc.), 2.) infectious (from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and/or parasites), 3.) toxic (from chemicals, drugs, and poisons), and 4.) neoplastic (tumors - either benign or cancerous).
The liver also can be damaged because of disease processes in other parts of the body, such as diabetes mellitus (I’ll write more about diabetes mellitus in my future column devoted to the pancreas) and bowel disease.
Next month I’ll write on symptoms and diagnosis of liver disease in your geriatric dog or cat. |
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Dr. Kathleen Carson, DVM
Veterinarian & Author
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Dr. Carson received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California at Davis in 1968. She's been a small animal practitioner (dogs and cats ) for all the years since, except for a short stint at the San Diego Zoo when she first graduated.
She belongs to the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.
Since 1974 she's lived and practiced in the South Bay Area near Los Angeles. She started the area's first house call practice in 1976 and the first pet crisis/loss group in 1989. The human-animal bond is of special interest to her.
She started exploring complementary veterinary medicine in 1987. Her practice became 100% holistic in 1996. She utilizes acupuncture, herbs, supplements, Bach Flower Remedies, homeopathic remedies, nutrition and medications for her patients in her practice.
She's currently taking a leave of absence from her house call practice due to health reasons but continues to do phone consultations and to write.
E-mail:
Critterhlr@aol.com
website:
http://www.holistic
vetconsult.com
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