Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Of, relating to, or resembling the liver.
  2. adj. Acting on or occurring in the liver.
  3. n. A drug that acts on the liver.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. In anatomy and physiology, of or pertaining in any way to the liver.
  2. In zoology, liver-colored; dark brownish-red; hepaticous: as, the hepatic tanager, Pyranga hepatica.
  3. n. A medicine acting on the liver.
  4. n. One of the Hepaticœ.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Any compound that acts on the liver.
  2. n. A liverwort (kind of plant)
  3. adj. Of or relating to the liver.
  4. adj. Acting on or occurring in the liver.
  5. adj. Of a deep brownish-red color like that of liver.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Of or pertaining to the liver
  2. adj. Resembling the liver in color or in form.
  3. adj. Pertaining to, or resembling, the plants called Hepaticæ, or scale mosses and liverworts.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. pertaining to or affecting the liver
  2. n. any of numerous small green nonvascular plants of the class Hepaticopsida growing in wet places and resembling green seaweeds or leafy mosses

Etymologies

  1. Middle English epatic, from Old French hepatique, from Latin hēpaticus, from Greek hēpatikos, from hēpar, hēpat-, liver; see yē̆kwr̥ in Indo-European roots.

Examples

  • “When viewed under a microscope, the liver is seen as large network of units called hepatic lobules.”

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en]

  • “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration questioned the impact of the company's drug that would treat a condition caused by the buildup of toxic substances that impairs brain function known as hepatic encephalopathy.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Penford Ends Higher; Salix Shares Drop

  • “Medically known as hepatic lipidosis, she narrates, foie gras is a disease marketed as a delicacy.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Foie Gras Wars

  • “Workers force-feed the ducks so they develop a disease called hepatic lipidosis, Noyes states before cutting to an avian veterinarian, Laurie Siperstein-Cook, who says, A friend of mine refers to pt as hepatic lipidosis on toast.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Foie Gras Wars

  • “This bile travels from the liver to the gall bladder—a little sack tucked beneath the liver—through a small tube called the hepatic duct.”

    Carbohydrates and gallstones | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.

  • “However, if your HCV infection has led to cirrhosis and you are at risk for a complication known as hepatic encephalopathy (see chapter 9), you may need to restrict the amount of animal protein (meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products) in your diet.”

    Simon & Schuster: DR. SANJIV CHOPRA’S LIVER BOOK

  • “Mental confusion, the hallmark of a syndrome called hepatic encephalopathy.”

    Simon & Schuster: DR. SANJIV CHOPRA’S LIVER BOOK

  • “Rifaximin, which is approved to treat travelers' diarrhea and a liver condition called hepatic encephalopathy, is an appealing antibiotic for the purpose, Tack said, because it does not leave the gut and get into the general circulation, does not appear to promote resistance and has few, if any, side effects.”

    The Seattle Times

  • “These animals are basically induced with a state of disease, known as hepatic lipindosis in their livers and for what?”

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion

  • “You can throw them into kitty anorexia, which causes a disease that's called hepatic lipidosis, the big word for something called fatty liver, which can kill the cat.”

    Breaking News: CBS News

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘hepatic’.

Comments

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  • chained_bear "'...makes me fear that this is not an ordinary congestion of the hepatic ducts but some disease acquired in New South Wales.'"
    --O'Brian, The Truelove, 27 Mar 10, 2008

‘hepatic’ has been looked up 986 times, added to 10 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 14.