what is liver enclosed in?
Glisson’s capsule (fibrous connective tissue)
how is liver used for storage?
vitamins ADK and Fe
how does liver have endocrine-like functions?
liver modifies action of hormones released by other organs, including vit D and thyroxine conversion, and production of GHRF (growth hormone releasing factor)
what is the dual blood supply of liver?
75% from hepatic portal vein (depleted of O2, but rich in nutrients, toxins, and hormones)
25% from hepatic artery (carries O2ated blood)
blood mixed before entering hepatic sinusoids
what are the components of the portal triad?
hepatic artery
portal vein
bile duct
all present in CT of Glisson’s capsule in portal canal with lymphatic vessels and nerves
what is the central vein?
terminal hepatic venule
do the sublobular, hepatic, portal, and central veins travel together?
no, they travel separately so the portal veins are distinguished as part of portal triad
blood from where is in contact with hepatocytes?
blood from hepatic sinusoids
what are the 4 structural components of the liver?
what is the “classic liver lobule”? how is it visualized?
hexagonal cylinder of tissue of 0.7 x 2 mm
what is the portal lobule?
emphasizes exocrine functions of liver
what is the liver acinus? what does it do? what are its zones?
lozenge/football shape whose long axis is a line drawn between 2 central veins, and short axis between adjacent portal canals between central veins
-blood perfusion, metabolic activity, and liver pathology
-zone I: hepatocytes that are the first to get O2, nutrients, and toxins from sinusoidal blood
–die last when circulation is impaired, first to regenerate
-zone II: intermediate
zone III: first to show ischemic necrosis, and first to show fat accumulation
what are hepatic sinusoids?
discontinuous sinusoidal capillaries with large fenestrae and gaps between neighboring cells
-part of wall is filled by Kupffer cells that extend into lumen
what are Kupffer cells? where are they?
members of mononuclear phagocytic system that destroy aged RBC with spleen, digest Hb, and destroy bacteria
-make up 15% of liver cell population in hepatic sinusoids
what is the perisinusoidal space (of Disse)?
site of exchange of materials between blood and liver cells
what happens to Ito cells if there’s chronic inflammation or cirrhosis?
Ito cells lost storage ability of vit A, and transform into myofibroblasts that make collagen for liver fibrosis
what percentage of the liver is hepatocytes? how are its nuclei?
80%
hepatocyte regeneration
have long life span of 5 months
what are cytoplasmic components of the hepatocyte?
reflect diversity of cell’s functions
how can SER vary with metabolic activity?
how does bile flow? what do its pathways contain?
outward from center of classic liver lobule
how much liver bile is secreted and its makeup, and how much is recycled
1 L of bile/day
what is bilirubin glucuronide?
bile pigment from Hb breakdown
mucosa of gallbladder
made of simple columnar epithelial cells with apical microvilli, complex lateral placations, and concentrations of mitochondria