ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HYPERPLASTIC ALTERATIONS IN THE LIVER OF CONGENITAL PORTACAVAL-SHUNT RATS

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 65  (5) , 585-596
Abstract
A congenital portacaval shunt as discovered in 5 rats. In these animals the hepatic artery was the only blood vessel perfusing the liver; the portal vein was absent. The livers were small and mainly hypoplastic, but light microscopy revealed the occurrence of focal hyperplastic alterations and occasional hyperplastic nodules. TEM [transmission electron microscopy] and SEM [scanning electron microscopy] showed these areas to be composed of clustered hepatocytes, separated by widened intercellular spaces. The cell membranes carried numerous pleomorphic microvilli and the cytoplasma contained densely packed mitochondria, some of which were giant sized. Liver cells in the centrilobular region were hypoplastic. Comparison with findings of experimental portacaval anastomosis suggest that in congenital-shunt animals the overall hypoplasia of the liver with the formation of hyperplastic areas is a consequence of the lack of portal blood.