The clinician is frequently disappointed in the quality of the diagnostic assistance gained from liver function studies where it is important to differentiate medical jaundice from surgical jaundice. At operation the surgeon may find a grossly diseased liver when the preoperative liver function studies had been relatively normal. The purpose of our investigation was to evaluate in dogs the effects of specific lesions upon liver function tests.
Procedure and Methods
Thirty mongrel dogs varying in weight from 12-25 kg. were employed. They were divided into 7 groups in which the following specific lesions were produced:A liver function test battery (serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, cephalin flocculation, and thymol turbidity) was run preoperatively and at 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, 1 week, and 2 weeks postoperatively.
Results
Alkaline Phosphatase: Effect of Different Lesions upon This Measurement.
—In Figure 1 are shown the serum alkaline phosphatase values before and after ligation