My dog has enlarged liver, normal bloodwork, vomiting. What is it?

Question

Jackson has been throwing up (mostly bile), has dark diarrhea, hasn't been eating normally, & drinking alot of water. We took him to the vet last night & they did bloodwork & an x-ray. The bloodwork came back normal, but the x-ray showed a slightly enlarged liver. We had the x-ray sent out to a radiologist & haven't heard anything yet. The vet gave us anti-nausea medication for him & we need to report if he continues to throw up. With an enlarged liver & normal bloodwork, what could this be? Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | neutered | 10 years and 10 months old | 11 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello. It is good that the blood work was normal as this indicates there is no damage or destruction going on with the liver cells. Mild inflammation could cause the liver to swell slightly, especially since the liver is the main organ for removing toxins from the bloodstream. This means the liver is doing its job. And, this might just be an artifact of positioning during the x-ray or Jackson may just have a slightly larger liver than normal. If he seems better, then the medication is doing its job. If he continues to act unwell, the next step would be to ultrasound his liver to get a better picture as to what might be going on, & perhaps additional blood work to narrow things down. But I would not be too concerned just yet, as the liver has a great capacity to repair & regenerate itself ( the only organ in our bodies that can do so ). I hope Jackson is feeling better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My dog has enlarged liver, normal bloodwork, vomiting. What is it?

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