Liver Regeneration

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Abstract
The extraordinary ability of the liver to regenerate after injury or resection has long fascinated physicians, scientists, and lay persons. The earliest allusion to the liver's regenerative capacity is described in Hesiod's Theogony (750 to 700 BC). Prometheus, a Titan, angered Zeus by stealing fire and giving it to the primitive humans. As his punishment, Prometheus was chained to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains where Zeus tormented him by sending an eagle each day to devour his liver. Nightly his damaged liver regenerated, leaving him fit for the next day's torture. Scientific documentation of the ability of the human liver to regenerate was not made, however, until 1890. 1 Ponfick V.A. Ueber Leberresection und Leberreaction. Verhandl Deutsch Gessellsch Chir. 1890; 19 : 28 Google Scholar