Diseases of the Liver, Gallbladder and Bile Ducts

Great expectations preceded the new edition of this book. The first edition presented a well organized review of our clinical knowledge as well as of the normal and pathologic physiology and morphology of the hepatobiliary diseases. Since 1942, new information has accumulated. The integration of this newly acquired knowledge in the new edition has been accomplished in an admirable fashion. The experiences of the war with acute hepatitis, newly acquired information as to the histopathologic changes of the liver resulting from the widely expanded use of liver biopsy, progress in hepatic tests derived from increased knowledge of hepatic physiology, advances in medical treatment in general and the use of antibiotics specifically and the new surgical technics are all well presented in this second edition. As cannot be avoided in a field with such extensive ramifications as that of the diseases of the liver, not all aspects are given the degree