Why is liver functioning so important for my pet?

The liver is the second largest organ in the body and is often seen as the most important one. In traditional Chinese medicine, for example, a healthy liver is seen as the most critical element in the body’s ability to fight disease and function optimally.

Amongst other important functions, the liver is responsible for eliminating and detoxifying the poisons that enter the blood stream. It also produces bile which is essential in the breakdown of fats and is the organ which stores Vitamin A, D, E and K.

Environmental pollution, processed and unhealthy foods, prescription drugs, frequent vaccinations and sedentary lifestyles all contribute to sluggish and diseased livers. The result? Pets with depressed immune systems, constant fatigue, obesity, sluggish livers and digestive systems, allergies, respiratory ailments, unhealthy skin and many other health problems.

A sluggish or diseased liver can seriously compromise your pet’s health and increase the chances of systemic illness.

How do I know if my pet has a problem liver?

Symptoms of a problem liver can be vague especially in the early stages of liver disease.

A liver shunt is a blood vessel that carries blood around the liver instead of carrying blood through the liver. A liver shunt problem is mostly congenital. A dog may also acquire multiple small shunts from a severe liver disease, such as cirrhosis. There are basically two kinds of liver shunt conditions that are possible – congenital liver shunt and acquired liver shunt.

Congenital Liver Shunts

The liver function is not needed in the fetus. The mother’s liver performs functions like filtering, production of proteins and storage of sugar for the unborn baby. There is a large shunt in mammalian fetuses that carries blood from the fetal liver to the heart. This shunt (duct) usually closes once the baby’s liver becomes operational before or after birth. In rare cases this shunt does not close leading to what is known as a congenital ‘intra hepatic’ shunt. In certain cases, a blood vessel outside the liver grows abnormally and remains open while the fetal shunt closes. This condition is known as congenital ‘extra-hepatic’ shunt.

Acquired Liver Shunts

Severe and chronic liver disease in dogs can lead to the formation of numerous small shunts. Hepatic cirrhosis is one of the main reasons behind acquired liver shunts in dogs.

Certain factors make it is very difficult to diagnose liver disease in dogs .

* Symptoms of liver disease in dogs are difficult to pin point as they are subtle and vague and often mimic those relating to other diseases.
* Liver cells can continue to perform their dedicated functions despite the liver mass being affected.
* The liver has a great reserve capacity.
* The liver can be affected by other diseases as it supports and is supported by many other organs and systems in the body.

All these factors can lead to frustration for a veterinarian to diagnose whether the liver is affected and to what extent. One of the tools that the specialist will use is to get a complete chemistry profile of a blood sample. Although, clinical pathological tests and enzymology play a crucial role in arriving at correct diagnoses, it seldom indicates any deviation from a healthy condition of the liver. Enzymology is a branch of biochemistry that deals with the chemical nature and biological activity of enzymes.

Another factor that complicates diagnosis of liver disease is that the levels of even enzymes that are specific to liver can be disturbed by secondary hepatic disease also.

The large size of the liver stands testimony to the multifunctional roles that it plays in the health of a dog. Its importance can be gauged from the fact that 25% of the blood pumped out with each heartbeat goes into the liver alone.

Another significant aspect of the liver lies in the fact that it stores its capacity for emergencies and uses only a small amount of its potential at any given time. This inherent property actually works against your pet as the symptoms of liver disease in dogs remain hidden for a long time. The liver has an advantage that is matched by very few organs in the body. Liver cells can regenerate themselves allowing a disease struck liver to resume normal functions in many cases.

The liver is also involved in practically all that goes on in the body. It is involved in growth, supply of nutrients, providing energy and filtering toxins. It also aids other organs in their functions. Understanding liver disease in dogs is a complex process. The causes behind liver malfunction, however, can be tabulated for easy understanding.

The liver is a multifunctional organ in the body. It is involved in practically all the biochemical processes that go on in a healthy body. It transfers food into energy, detoxifies waste materials, synthesizes proteins and also serves as a blood reservoir. It is natural for any disorder in such a versatile organ to affect other parts of the body. Moreover its capacity to act as a life preserver is so enormous that it can function efficiently even when nearly 70 to 80% of its mass is affected by any disease, even if it is liver cancer in dogs.

The natural corollary of the liver’s multifunctional role and its reserve capacity is that the liver can keep your dog alive despite a major infection or a huge tumor. The fact that the symptoms of liver cancer in dogs tend to be non specific or mimic symptoms of other disorders adds to the problem. More often than not the symptoms can remain hidden till the disorder has advanced to an untreatable stage.

Liver disease in dogs is a more common occurrence than feline liver disease. Liver has always been a mysterious organ, which performs more functions in maintaining life than any other organ in the body. Its large size with the capacity to continue work even when it is affected by disease makes it difficult to diagnose a liver disease. In addition, given the right support, liver cells can regenerate and bounce back to normal functioning.

One of the major functions of liver is to metabolize fats, carbohydrates and proteins. If the liver does not function properly, the nutrients cannot be metabolized effectively and harmful by-products cannot be broken down. This can greatly affect the detoxification process. For example:

* The bacteria in large intestines produce toxic ammonia while breaking down proteins for absorption in the blood stream.
* When the liver is unable to provide essential nutrients to the body, cells break down body tissue to cover up the loss. Ammonia is also produced during this process.
* Liver disease leads to an inability to detoxify toxins and they enter the blood and circulate throughout the body.
* In severe conditions contaminated blood reaches the brain and causes hepatic encephalopathy leading to fits, seizures, excess salivation and head pressing.

Out of the numerous liver functions, filtering of blood is perhaps one of the most important and crucial to the health of your dog. After the food has been digested in the intestines it is absorbed into the portal blood stream and carried to the liver. The liver works upon it to:

* Store some of the food for energy.
* Filter bacteria, chemicals, toxins and nutritional byproducts.
* Produce proteins and other substances necessary for life.

A liver shunt is a condition where the portal blood vessel, instead of carrying blood through the liver, carries it around it. In dogs with a liver shunt the unfiltered blood is carried into the body and toxins accumulate in the blood stream and kidneys, a condition that ultimately causes serious problems.

There are reasonable indications that suggest that liver shunt is a congenital liver disease in dogs and mostly the young puppy dies within weeks after birth. Some dogs do survive for years before some of the symptoms of liver disease in dogs like seizures, abnormal behaviors and serious illnesses become noticeable. In certain cases, however, liver shunt is acquired later in life due to insult to the organ due to a disease or injury.

The liver has innate properties of regenerating itself and can function easily even when a major part of its mass has been affected by a disease. This is the double edged nature of the largest organ in the body. It is advantageous in as much as it means that it keeps on working to its full potential for a long time even when it is affected by a liver disease. On the other hand, it also restricts manifestation of symptoms of liver disease in dogs while the disease continues to progress.

Liver disease in dogs throws up multiple symptoms, which are often confusing as they can relate to many mild disorders. The liver being the main industrial center in the body, performing multiple functions, is connected with practically all the biochemical processes that a body needs to function at optimal levels. As such, liver disease can affect any part of the body and in turn be affected by viral or bacterial infections in other organs or body systems. Some of the main symptoms of liver diseases in dogs are:

Gastrointestinal

The liver performs important functions like detoxification of the blood, production of bile for digestion and the removal of waste from the body. It is structured with six lobes and is one of the most complex organs in the body of the dog.

An early detection of a liver infection in a dog can help in improving the prognosis of pet liver diseases including feline liver disease . The unusually vast capacity of the liver to continue to function even when afflicted is mostly responsible for late detection of liver disease in dogs. Early detection is also tough since the symptoms of liver disease tend to surface only after the disease has progressed. Symptoms of liver disease in dogs may be gradual or sudden and symptomatic of certain conditions like indigestion and anxiety.

There are multiple causes of liver disease and a specific diagnosis is not always possible. Some of the major causes include:

* Drug induced liver disease.
* Trauma.
* Infections caused by bacteria or viruses.
* Ingestion of toxic substances.
* Congenital disorder like a liver shunt.
* Change in blood supply due to heart disease.
* Accumulation of copper.
* Fall out of other disorder.

Functions of the liver, gallbladder and pancreas

The liver, the gallbladder and the pancreas are all crucially involved in the digestive process. The liver stores Vitamins A, D, E and K and produces bile, which is essential in the breakdown of fats.

It is also responsible for eliminating and detoxifying the poisons that enter the blood stream. These include medications, processed and unhealthy food and the various toxins your pet is exposed to on a daily basis.

The gallbladder stores the bile which is produced by the liver and releases it during digestion. The pancreas not only produces pancreatic juice which contains digestive enzymes that help in the breaking down of food, it also plays a vital role in controlling the level of sugar in the bloodstream by secreting two important hormones, insulin and glucagon

What are the symptoms of an unhealthy liver, gall bladder or pancreas?

Look out for the following signs in your pet if you suspect problems:

* Loss of appetite
* Weight loss
* Listlessness/lethargy
* Poor coat condition
* Vomiting
* Diarrhea/soft stools
* Gray stools
* Swollen abdomen
* Fluid retention
* Increased thirst
* Jaundiced (yellow) mucous membranes
* Weakness
* Confusion
* Convulsions or delirium in advanced disease.