4 ms·

What is interesting is that the liver is one of the few human organs which are really able to regrow after an injury. Therefore even if this may be just a coin

What is interesting is that the liver is one of the few human organs which are really able to regrow after an injury. Therefore even if this may be just a coincidence that the legend of Prometheus includes the periodic regrowth of his liver after being wounded, there is also the possibility that some ancient people were aware of some cases of liver regeneration, though it is not clear how they could have discovered that.

marci 3y ago
Warfare may have helped. When you see often enough some injuries and how people recover (or not) from them, some may see patterns and intuit recovery mechanism: - Injuries to the lungs aren't always fatal but patients tend to have lasting breathing problems. - Liver injuries... hmmm, make your eyes turn yellowish, and it seems like those who come from the region where they drink hot water with some plant inside tend to fare better than those who don't, and if you survive, eyes return to normal and you can make a full recovery.
- mohaba 3y ago
  To me, it is clear you are referencing jaundice for the second one, but I am not sure what plants are good for that.
  - sincerely 3y ago
    I think they're talking about coffee, iirc there are some studies that show it helps with liver cirrhosis which can cause jaundice
    - hcarvalhoalves 3y ago
      Plectranthus barbatus
  - astrange 3y ago
    Milk thistle is the historical one. NAC is the modern one.
    - zoklet-enjoyer 3y ago
      Milk thistle supplements are popular for liver health.
  - marci 3y ago
    It was more a referende to the act of boiling water. The observer at that point might not yet know if it's just a correlation or not. Just gathering information.
kragen 3y ago
the article claims that this was impossible
- adrian_b 3y ago
  I have written my previous comment before reading the complete article, but the article does not contradict it. The article says that there have also been several other authors who have speculated like me that the Greeks might have been aware of the regeneration ability of the liver. The article continues to say that they do not believe that this was possible. I agree that it is very unlikely that they were aware of liver regeneration, but it was not impossible. At that time, they would have seen very frequently wounds to the liver, from spears, arrows or swords. Most of the wounded would have died due to infections but some of them would have survived and recovered. The unlikely element is only the conclusion that their liver had regenerated, because it is unlikely that their corpses would have been dissected after death, to examine their livers. Nevertheless, in Egypt the viscera were removed before mummification. Therefore it is possible that some Egyptians could have noticed cases of liver regeneration and this knowledge could have been passed to some Greeks. Even so, they might have thought that the cases of liver regeneration are an exception that can happen only with the help of gods, because most liver wounds must have been fatal, due to infections or blood loss.
  - kragen 3y ago
    i agree

marci 3y ago

Warfare may have helped. When you see often enough some injuries and how people recover (or not) from them, some may see patterns and intuit recovery mechanism: - Injuries to the lungs aren't always fatal but patients tend to have lasting breathing problems. - Liver injuries... hmmm, make your eyes turn yellowish, and it seems like those who come from the region where they drink hot water with some plant inside tend to fare better than those who don't, and if you survive, eyes return to normal and you can make a full recovery.

mohaba 3y ago
To me, it is clear you are referencing jaundice for the second one, but I am not sure what plants are good for that.
- sincerely 3y ago
  I think they're talking about coffee, iirc there are some studies that show it helps with liver cirrhosis which can cause jaundice
  - hcarvalhoalves 3y ago
    Plectranthus barbatus
- astrange 3y ago
  Milk thistle is the historical one. NAC is the modern one.
  - zoklet-enjoyer 3y ago
    Milk thistle supplements are popular for liver health.
- marci 3y ago
  It was more a referende to the act of boiling water. The observer at that point might not yet know if it's just a correlation or not. Just gathering information.

kragen 3y ago

the article claims that this was impossible

adrian_b 3y ago
I have written my previous comment before reading the complete article, but the article does not contradict it. The article says that there have also been several other authors who have speculated like me that the Greeks might have been aware of the regeneration ability of the liver. The article continues to say that they do not believe that this was possible. I agree that it is very unlikely that they were aware of liver regeneration, but it was not impossible. At that time, they would have seen very frequently wounds to the liver, from spears, arrows or swords. Most of the wounded would have died due to infections but some of them would have survived and recovered. The unlikely element is only the conclusion that their liver had regenerated, because it is unlikely that their corpses would have been dissected after death, to examine their livers. Nevertheless, in Egypt the viscera were removed before mummification. Therefore it is possible that some Egyptians could have noticed cases of liver regeneration and this knowledge could have been passed to some Greeks. Even so, they might have thought that the cases of liver regeneration are an exception that can happen only with the help of gods, because most liver wounds must have been fatal, due to infections or blood loss.
- kragen 3y ago
  i agree