GALACTOSE TOLERANCE TEST

also called Bauer's Test, procedure assessing liver function. The healthy liver is able to convert galactose, one type of sugar, to glucose, the major sugar in the body. In persons with liver disease, this ability is defective; the administration of galactose results in the persistence of abnormal levels of it in the blood for several hours and in the urinary excretion of abnormal amounts of galactose. This test has been advocated for the differential diagnosis between hepatocellular and obstructive jaundice. The test yields abnormal results in persons with hepatocellular jaundice, which is caused by injury to the liver cells, but normal results in persons with obstructive jaundice, which is caused by an impediment to the flow of bile from the liver to the digestive tract.