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1. HISTOLOGY OF THE LIVER

2. THE LIVER
• Largest gland of the body.
• 1500 grams and 2.5% of total body
weight.
• Location:
- Right hypochondrium
- Epigastric region
- Left hypochondrium

3. VASCULAR SUPPLY OF THE LIVER
• Receives dual
vascular supply:
-Hepatic Portal
Vein (75%)
- Hepatic
Artery(25%)
• Both vessels enter
the liver via Porta
hepatis.

4. HISTOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE LIVER

5. THE LIVER STROMA
Consists of: -
1- Connective Tissue
Capsule
2-Trabeculae
3-Reticular fibers
1.Connective Tissue
Capsule:
Serous layer: Visceral
Peritoneum
Fibrous layer: Glisson’s
capsule

6. 2-Trabeculae: The Glisson’s capsule extends into
the interior of liver as numerous branching
trabeculae and septa.

7. 3- Reticular fibers:
- Supporting connective tissue of the liver.
- Line the sinusoids, support the endothelial cells, and form
a denser network of reticular fibers in the wall of the
central vein.
- Also merge with the collagen fibers in the interlobular
septum, where they surround the portal vein and the bile
duct.

8. THE LIVER PARENCHYMA
• Organized as thousands
of small hepatic lobules.
• Hepatic Lobules:
Structural units of Liver.
Roughly hexagonal
arrangement of irregular
plates or cords of
hepatocytes radiating
outward from a central
vein.

10. CONCEPTS OF LIVER LOBULES
• Classical Hepatic Lobule
• Portal Lobule
• Hepatic Acinus of Rappaport

11. Classical Hepatic Lobule
• Each lobule consists of a hexagonal mass of liver cells.
• Central axis occupied by:
Central vein:
• Is an independent venous unit.
• From the central vein, hepatocytes
radiate irregularly as plates known
as Hepatic lamina.
• Spaces between the hepatic lamina
are called Hepatic lacunae,
occupied by Hepatic sinusoids.

14. CLASSICAL HEPATIC LOBULE Contd..
• Hepatic Sinusoids:
- Wide diameter capillaries.
- Their walls are fenestrated and made up of flattened
endothelial cells.
- Kupffer cells and pit cells are attached to the endothelial
surface.

15. CLASSICAL HEPATIC LOBULE Contd..
• Hepatic sinusoids receive a mixture of blood from the portal
vein and the hepatic artery of adjacent portal area.
• They are interlaminar and centripetal in direction.
• The blood flows towards Central vein →Sublobular vein
→Hepatic vein →Inferior Venacava.

16. THE PORTAL SPACE
Peripherally, each lobule has 3 to 6 portal areas with
more fibrous connective tissue, each of which
contains interlobular structures that comprise the
portal triad.
They include:
1-A venule branch of the portal vein, with blood
rich in nutrients but low in O2.
2-An arteriole branch of the hepatic artery that supplies
O2.
3-One or two small bile ductules of cuboidal
epithelium, branches of the bile conducting
system.

18. BILE CANALICULI
• Formed by spaces present between plasma
membranes of adjacent liver cells.
• Form hexagonal networks around the liver cells.
• Borders around the canaliculi are sealed by tight
junctions. This forms the blood-bile barrier.

19. BILE CANALICULI
• The canaliculi pass to periphery of the hepatic lobules
where they form intralobular canal of Herring, that finally
drains into the interlobular duct of the portal area.
• Bile canaliculi are intralaminar and centrifugal in
direction

20. SPACE OF DISSE / PERISINUSOIDAL SPACE
• Potential space between the wall of sinusoids
and laminae of the liver cells.
• Filled with blood plasma
and chylomicrons that
percolate through the wall
of sinusoids.
• Presence of Ito cells.

22. Ito cells
• Irregular outline with numerous lipid vesicles.
• Function of Ito cells:
- Secrete collagenous matrix
- Provide growth factor for regeneration of
damaged liver cells.
- Store Vitamin A in their lipid vesicles.

23. SPACE OF MALL
• Potential space, between the glisson’s capsule of portal
area and the hepatic plates of the cells.
• Lymphatics of liver
begin here.

24. THE PORTAL LOBULE
• Territory of liver tissue
centered around a portal
triad.
• Drawn by joining the central
veins of three adjacent
lobules.
• Nutritional lobule of the liver.

26. Hepatic acinus of Rappaport
• Diamond shaped area of liver parenchyma.
• Forms structural and metabolic functions of the
liver.
•Numerous branches
arise at right angles
from the blood vessels
of portal area, these
terminal vessels form
backbone of the liver
acinus.

28. Hepatic acinus of Rappaport contd..
The acinus can be divided into 3 zones based on the
gradient of blood supply:
Zone 1:
Around the vascular backbone, is well oxygenated.
Zone 2:
Intermediate zone, moderately xygenated.
Zone 3:
Close to the central vein and the least oxygenated;
most susceptible to anoxic injury.

29. THE HEPATOCYTES
• Large cuboidal or polyhedral epithelial cells, with
large, round central nuclei and eosinophilic
cytoplasm rich in mitochondria.

30. THANK
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