IMPORTANCE OF TERMINAL HEPATIC VENULE THICKENING

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 104  (2) , 84-86
Abstract
Thickening around the terminal hepatic venule (THV) in alcoholics was implicated as a marker for fibrosis and cirrhosis. To test this hypothesis, 107 liver biopsy specimens were evaluated from patients with normal liver histologic features (12), fatty livers (30), mild alcoholic hepatitis (15) and florid alcoholic hepatitis (29). Follow-up liver biopsy specimens (21) from patients with fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis were available for study. Two observers graded 18 histologic features on a scale of 0-3. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of THV thickening in normal biopsy specimens and in various forms of alcoholic liver injury. There was no correlation between the degree of THV thickening and steatosis, necrosis or inflammation. Thickening of the THV was most common in the presence of lobular and subsinusoidal fibrosis. Cirrhosis developed in 9 of 10 alcoholic patients who had subsinusoidal and lobular fibrosis. The marker for progressive fibrosis and development of cirrhosis is lobular and subsinusoidal fibrosis and not the isolated thickening of the THV.

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