The Liver is one of the hardest working organs in the body. It stores and replenishes blood while also managing the volume of blood in response to physical demand on the body. All of the other organs rely heavily on the liver.
In Traditional Chinese medicine or (TCM) The Liver is the General governing the body and mind
While the heart is the king or supreme commander over all body-mind functions, the Chinese describe the liver as the general or long-range planner.
First consider how a good general helps defend against external invasions and attacks and how the liver similarly protect the
body-mind from various external poisons and pathogens. In this regard, the liver serves as an important citadel for the function of the
immune system as it is primarily responsible for detoxification and elimination of various metabolic poisons. While the external
immune system is involved in overcoming pathological bacteria and viruses throughout the body, the liver make the process more
efficient by removing the debris in the form of vanquished and exhausted blood cells and other metabolic wastes from the blood. In
this way renewed cells can arise within the blood to continue the process of phago-cytosis and other protective functions.
The liver serves as long-range planner by refining, filtering, using and storing important nutrients such proteins, glycogen, vitamins
and various minerals including iron for immediate and future use. The planning capacity of the liver is also demonstrated by its ability
to chemically alter or excrete different hormones including thyroxin and essentially all the steroid hormones such as estrogen,
cortisol, aldosterone and so forth. While many of these are generated as part of natural physical cycles, they can also be radically
thrown out of balance in reaction to fear or stress and thus the liver plays a key role in helping to maintain a clear and balanced mental state. The liver and sister, meridian Gallbladder also oversees tendon and ligaments just something to think about if your pups gate seems a bit stiff.
The liver is also actively involved in detoxifying and excreting into the bile many different drugs, including: Rimadyl, Tramadol, Antibiotics, Nsaids to name a few.
For full article on liver function click below
http://www.tcmequine.com/TCM_Liver_system.html
So when your pups liver values appear to be off it can be cause for concern. The link below does an amazing job of summarizing these commonly measured liver values:
alkaline phosphatase (ALP)a
alanine transaminase (ALT),
aspartate transaminase (AST),
bilirubin and albumin.
Here is the link to the explanation of the liver values
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/04/09/pet-liver-blood-test.aspx?
I have also listed two great points to help support the liver these can be done if there is an issue or prophylactically to keep your pup’s liver happy.
Liv3 between the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal bones : balances and supports the liver removes toxins from the body benefits liver and gallbladder disorders..
Sp6 3 fingers above the medial malleolus or ankle bone this point is on the bone so just follow it up two finger widths on the inside of the back leg. This is a great point to increase blood flow and reduces inflammation also great support for liver kidney and spleen.
