Hepatics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A branch of medicine that deals with liver diseases and conditions
2. Studies associated with the liver's structure, function, and diseases
3. The scientific field focusing on hepatic biology and its disorders

Etymology: The ancient Greeks called the liver "hēpar," and the adjective "hēpatikos" meant "of the liver." Latin writers adopted it as "hepaticus," which English later took as "hepatic." The noun "hepatics" follows the pattern of words like "physics" and "genetics," where the "-ics" ending names a field of study, so it means the study of the liver. The same Greek root also names a group of plants. Liverworts, small flat plants that grow on damp soil and rock, belong to a class called Hepaticae, named for the liver-like lobes of many of their bodies. Two unrelated uses of the root, one anatomical and one botanical, share a single source: a visible resemblance to a liver.