Q 01/05

Which Titan of Greek myth was chained to a rock while an eagle ate his liver every day?

A) Atlas

B) Epimetheus

C) Prometheus

D) Cronus

Answer · why

C) Prometheus

Prometheus was being punished by Zeus for stealing fire and giving it to humans; in several major versions of the myth the hero Heracles eventually ki...

Q 02/05

Which Arctic animal's liver holds so much vitamin A that eating it can poison a person?

A) Polar bear

B) Musk ox

C) Arctic hare

D) Snowy owl

Answer · why

A) Polar bear

Polar bear liver has been off the menu for the Inuit for generations, and a Dutch crew learned why in 1597, falling severely ill after eating it while...

Q 03/05

After surgeons remove more than half of a healthy human liver, what does the remaining portion usually do?

A) Turns to scar tissue

B) Stays the same size

C) Slowly stops working

D) Regrows to full size

Answer · why

D) Regrows to full size

It regrows to full size, or very nearly, with function back to normal in about six weeks, which is why a living donor can give away the larger share o...

Q 04/05

For what purpose did Babylonian and Etruscan priests closely inspect the livers of sacrificed sheep?

A) Grading the meat

B) Testing for poison

C) Reading omens

D) Diagnosing disease

Answer · why

C) Reading omens

Reading omens in a liver was called hepatoscopy, and a bronze model of a sheep's liver found near Piacenza, Italy, is inscribed with the names of Etru...

Q 05/05

An overdose of which everyday painkiller is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States?

A) Ibuprofen

B) Naproxen sodium

C) Acetaminophen

D) Diclofenac

Answer · why

C) Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen, known as paracetamol outside North America, also prompts more calls to US poison control centers than an overdose of any other drug.