ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To study the effectiveness of the lidocaine test in evaluating the liver reserve of rats with experimental liver injury in different phases.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>40 healthy male Wistar rats were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Rats of the experimental group received subcutaneous CCl4 in oil injection, and rats of the control group received saline injections. Monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test, common hepatic function tests and histological examination of the livers were performed on all the rats.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>With the development of the severity in liver injury, the concentrations of the serum MEGX in lidocaine test decreased gradually, which were consistent with liver histological changes. However, the results from the common liver function tests were all abnormal in the experimental group and were not consistent with the liver histological changes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results obtained from the MEGX test are more agreeable to liver histological changes than those from common liver function tests. The results from the MEGX test can represent liver histological changes concisely.</p>