Why is a rabbit's liver so large?

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Why is a rabbit's liver so large?

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Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 9:23 am Post subject: Why is a rabbit's liver so large?
Why is a rabbit's liver so large? It seems disproportionately large for a relatively small animal! (just occured to me as I was cooking at the weekend)

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 9:39 am Post subject:
Maybe they drink too much.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 1:54 pm Post subject:

I find that the older the rabbit, the bigger the liver. I guess that its all to do with its veggie diet, its got a lot of plant toxins to break down all its life.

But its worth remembering that livers are always bigger than you're expecting them to be. The first time you see a whole beef liver, its kind of amazing.

The biggest liver relative to the size of the animal (at least of animals I've gutted) is a squirrel. How the heck a squirrel packs in a liver like that I don't know.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 1:55 pm Post subject:
I've seen some fairly large livers inside people.

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 2:05 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

I've seen some fairly large livers inside people.

I which previous life: medical or retail?

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 2:12 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

I've seen some fairly large livers inside people.

Having never seen a human liver... How big is one of our livers?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 3:07 pm Post subject:
Two or three rugby ball's worth. Heavy too, as anyone who's held a liver retractor for three or four hours can tell you.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46340
Location: yes

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 10:18 pm Post subject:
mmhm pate

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 10:20 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

mmhm pate

Lecter's the name, long pig's the game.

gil
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Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18416

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 10:22 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Two or three rugby ball's worth. .

eh ? I couldn't fit 2-3 rugby balls into my entire torso, let alone any other organs or bits - I'm sure my liver's not that big.

Brownbear

Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 14929
Location: South West

Posted: Mon May 11, 09 10:34 pm Post subject:

gil wrote:

sean wrote:

Two or three rugby ball's worth. .

eh ? I couldn't fit 2-3 rugby balls into my entire torso, let alone any other organs or bits - I'm sure my liver's not that big.

Maybe if you took a Swiss Army knife and used the innards-unfurling tool, you'd find that your abdomen had the properties of a Tardis.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Tue May 12, 09 9:33 am Post subject:

gil wrote:

sean wrote:

Two or three rugby ball's worth. .

eh ? I couldn't fit 2-3 rugby balls into my entire torso, let alone any other organs or bits - I'm sure my liver's not that big.

Average is 2kg but as low as 1.2 kg - for a healthy liver.

Edit. Human, not rabbit.

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