Note: Most of the venous blood from the alimentary canal
passes through it on its way back to the heart; and it
secretes the bile, produces glycogen, and in other ways
changes the blood which passes through it. In man it is
situated immediately beneath the diaphragm and mainly
on the right side. See {Bile}, {Digestive}, and
{Glycogen}. The liver of invertebrate animals is
usually made up of c[ae]cal tubes, and differs
materially, in form and function, from that of
vertebrates.
{Floating liver}. See {Wandering liver}, under {Wandering}.
{Liver of antimony}, {Liver of sulphur}. (Old Chem.) See
{Hepar}.
{Liver brown}, {Liver color}, the color of liver, a dark,
reddish brown.
{Liver shark} (Zo["o]l.), a very large shark ({Cetorhinus
maximus}), inhabiting the northern coasts both of Europe
and North America. It sometimes becomes forty feet in
length, being one of the largest sharks known; but it has
small simple teeth, and is not dangerous. It is captured
for the sake of its liver, which often yields several
barrels of oil. It has gill rakers, resembling whalebone,
by means of which it separates small animals from the sea
water. Called also {basking shark}, {bone shark},
{hoemother}, {homer}, and {sailfish}