Edited by
M. Eric Gershwin
John M. Vierling
and
Michael P. Manns

2007

Recognition of the importance of the liver to health by Babylonians in the 19th century BCE stands in stark contrast to the relative obscurity of the liver in the minds of most educated adults today. Medical appreciation of the vital nature of the liver’s diverse functions continues to evolve along with our efforts to better understand a multitude of hepatobiliary diseases caused by alcohol, xenobiotics, viruses, autoimmunity and genetic diseases.