EXPERIMENTAL SUBTOTAL LIGATION OF THE ARTERIES SUPPLYING THE LIVER

Abstract

It was found that subtotal removal of the arterial supply of the liver in the dog was possible by means of multiple stage operations, a procedure which was fatal when carried out at one sitting. The liver, lungs and placenta may be set apart from the other organs of the body since they receive blood of two different compositions, based on the oxygen and the carbon dioxide content. The relative contributions of the hepatic artery and the portal vein to the circulation of the liver, as well as the total flow of blood through the liver, have been estimated. The total amount of blood flowing through the liver per gram of liver per minute has been found by various investigators to be from 0.43 to 0.7 cc.,¹ from 0.46 to 1.12 cc.,² 0.25 cc.,³ 0.84 cc.,⁴ from 0.63 to 1.44 cc.,⁵ and 0.75 cc.⁶