The Niniveh library texts name more than a dozen liver-related terms and before cuneiform writing was even deciphered, hints of the existence of Babylonian hepatoscopy were recorded in the Bible. One Babylonian clay model of a sheep's liver was found dated between 2050 and 1750 BC. The model was used for omen divination which was important to Mesopotamian medicine. This study was carried out by priests and seers who looked for signs in the stars, or in the organs of sacrificed animals, to tell them things about a patient’s illness. Wooden pegs were placed in the holes of the clay tablet to record features found in a sacrificed animal’s liver. The priest or seer then used these features to predict the course of a patient’s illness.

Vagyis a ninuai szövegekből több mint egy tucat májra vonatkozó szakszó ismert, és meg is találták egy juh májának babiloni agyag modelljét a Kr. e. 2050 és 1750 közötti időből. Ezeket a májakat, májmodelleket látnokok, orvosok használták, részben ezek alapján gyógyítottak.