Rejection of the Homotransplanted Dog Liver in the Absence of Hepatic Insufficiency.

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Abstract
A method has been developed to transplant a whole liver into the pelvis of a recipient dog with its own liver undisturbed in situ. The aorta, vena cava and porta pedicles of the donor are anastomosed to the recipient external iliac artery, infrarenal cava vein and iliac vein respectively. After resection of the gall-bladder, the common duct is cannulated. The recipient liver showed nonspecific changes. The donor liver exhibited transient anoxic changes and after 5 days focal hepatocellular necrosis associated with accumulation of mononuclear basophilic cells, some macrophages and isolated segmented leucocytes. Bile secretion ceased within 8 days. Gradually liver cells were destroyed and replaced by immunologically competent cells and macrophages. After 20 days, all liver cells disappeared and the liver assumed a spleen-like appearance. The morphologic appearance of the early stages of the rejection resembles the peripheral piecemeal necrosis of chronic active hepatitis and progressing cirrhosis in man.