Examples to help judge the condition of the liver

Liver conditions are sometimes judged by touching and palpating; This is how they sometimes conclude that there is a tumor in it. The conclusion is also drawn from pain that is especially characteristic of the liver, or from its inherent actions, or from the complicity in the disease of organs close to it, for example, the stomach, the abdominal barrier, intestines, kidneys, and gall bladder. The condition of the liver is also judged by the involvement of organs located further away from it, for example, by the condition of the head area or the spleen area, or by the general condition of the entire body, that is, by complexion, appearance and by palpation. Sometimes the conclusion is drawn from the hair growing on the body in the region of the liver, from the veins growing from the liver, from the shape of other organs, from the juices that originate in the liver and spread from it, from the correspondence or inconsistency of various things, from the age and habits of the patient and according to what is connected with it.

A detailed description of these signs. As for the example related to palpation, the hotness of the liver area to the touch indicates a hot nature, and coldness indicates a cold nature. Stiffness indicates a hardened liver or a hard tumor in the liver, bloating indicates a tumor or swelling in the liver. The crescent shape of the felt bloating is a sign of bloating in the liver itself, and elongation or some other shape indicates that the bloating is outside the liver and has formed in the abdominal muscles. An example of a conclusion on pain is the following: if tension and heaviness are felt, then there is a blockage or tumor; if there is no gravity, then there are winds. If it is heaviness without tingling, then the matter in the body of the liver has formed a tumor or blockage, but if the heaviness is accompanied by tingling, then the matter has accumulated near the membrane covering the liver.

As for the conclusions about the actions performed by the liver, these actions are: digestion of chyle, attraction of nutrients, rushing blood into the body, aqueous humor into the kidneys, yellow bile into the gallbladder and black bile into the spleen, this also includes the condition thirst. When any of these actions is disrupted, and there is no reason depending on the organ involved with the liver, then the disturbance comes from the liver. Conclusions drawn from the manifestations of complicity are, for example, thirst - if it depends on the stomach, it often indicates the condition of the liver, as well as hiccups or, for example, appetite and digestion. Respiratory disorder, although usually due to a cause related to the lungs and thoraco-abdominal obstruction, sometimes also depends on the liver. Different qualities of stool and types of urine indicate the condition of the liver. Different types of headaches, head diseases, various diseases of the spleen also indicate the condition of the liver, or, for example, the condition of the tongue in terms of smoothness, roughness and color, as well as the color of the lips, allow us to judge the condition of the liver. Between the liver and the heart, sometimes there arises a discrepancy, opposition and struggle between the qualities of their natures, which we will mention in the paragraph on the natures of the liver.

As for the conclusion on the general condition of the body, the color of the face, for example, indicates what the liver is like: when it is ruddy and white, it means the liver is healthy, and if it is yellow, this indicates that the liver is hot. A leaden complexion is a sign of coldness of the liver, and if it is pale gray, this indicates its coldness and dryness; This is the same indication given by jaundice. Or again: signs of fleshy fullness indicate that the liver is hot and damp, while fullness from fat indicates that the liver is cold and damp; thinness is a sign of dry liver. General heat of the body, if the cause is not a strong heat of the heart, indicates heat of the liver; at the same time, the signs of heated liver mentioned above are also recognized. As for conclusions on the shape of other organs, these are, for example, conclusions on the large size of the veins and their width from the extensive size of the liver and the width of its ducts; short or significant length of the fingers indicates a small or large size of the liver. The conclusion about the hair growing on the body in the liver region is the same as the conclusion about the hair on other organs, and we have already mentioned them. The conclusions from what grows from the liver, that is, from the veins, are as follows: if the veins are thick, large and very clearly palpable, then the basic nature of the liver is hot; if they are subtle, unnoticeable, then the basic nature is cold. And the warmth, coldness, softness and hardness of the veins sometimes depend on the main nature of the liver, and sometimes on the secondary nature.

As for the conclusion about what is born in the liver, the too abundant generation of yellow bile indicates that the liver is hot, and the generation of black bile indicates that it is very hot, or dry coldness, as you will learn in your place. The generation of good blood indicates a healthy liver. The liver, from which the praiseworthy blood flows, well likened to the body, is healthy; if the blood is yellow-billed or black-billed, or thin, and this can be seen from the blood dispersed in the body, or if the blood is watery, unable to unite with the body, as in “hydrosis of the flesh,” then the liver is diseased in accordance with what the condition indicates substance spreading from it. As for correspondence and inconsistency, this is learned from the fact that the corresponding organs are similar in natural nature and opposite in secondary nature. Regarding age, habits and similar circumstances, you have already learned about the conclusion on them from the Book on General Questions of Medicine.

Discrepancy between heart and liver in regard to basic qualities. Know that the warmth of the heart greatly suppresses the warmth of the liver, its moisture does not suppress its dryness, and its dryness sometimes somewhat suppresses its moisture. The warmth of the liver weakly suppresses the coldness of the heart, its moisture weakly suppresses its dryness, and its coldness suppresses the warmth of the heart even less. Dryness of the liver always suppresses the moisture of the heart, and the coldness of the heart suppresses the warmth of the liver more than its dryness suppresses its moisture. The warmth of the heart suppresses the moisture of the liver more than its dryness suppresses its moisture, and it also completely suppresses the coldness of the liver.