THE SIGNIFICANCE OF UROBILOGEN IN THE URINE AS A TEST FOR LIVER FUNCTION

Abstract

Although it has long been recognized that the liver has a number of distinct functions, complete knowledge of any of these is still lacking. Especially is it difficult to determine whether any of the functions ascribed to the liver are carried on by this organ alone and not shared by other organs as well. There is far from general agreement in the interpretation of the experimental data available and from which conclusions have been drawn. In the light of this, it follows that any functional test, designed to measure liver abnormality, must be limited in its application and interpreted with great caution in terms of liver function. In any disease of the liver, it is unlikely that all functions are deranged, or at least equally involved, and, furthermore, there is no known single test which measures liver function as a whole. Liver functional tests are comparable then to renal tests,