Section of a liver in low
magnification
Portal triad
CV= Central vein
CV
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Section of a liver
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Portal Triad
This section of a liver
is showing many
hepatic lobules centered
around central vein.
Interlobular connective
tissue is not present here,
therefore, demarcation of
lobules from one another is
difficult here.
Section of a Pig Liver
MZI Khan
Section of this liver is
Showing:
Benzene-shaped
hexagonal hepatic lobules,
which are demarcated by
connective tissue.
Central vein at the center
of lobule.
Portal areas at the angle
of lobules.
Section of Liver
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Section showing central vein,
sinusoids, and hepatic cords.
Hepatic cords consisting of
six sided liver cells (hepatocytes).
The hepatocytes seems to be
radiating from the central vein
towards periphery of the hepatic
lobule.
 Sinusoids are the open channel
of blood in between the
hepatocytes.
Section of a liver showing a lobule and surfaces of
the hepatocytes
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Surfaces of hepatocytes:
(1)Microvillus surfaces that face the
perisinusoidal space,
(2) Surface that border the bile
canaliculi, and
(3) Contact surface between adjacent
hepatocytes where apposed surface
(lateral face).
The hepatocytes have centrally located
spherical nucleus with one or more
prominent nucleoli. Occasionally
binucleated cells may see
Portal areas/canal/triads of liver
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Portal triads have:
(1) Hepatic artery
(2) Portal vein, and
(3) Bile duct
Classification of hepatic lobules
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Classical hepatic
lobule
Portal lobule
Liver acinus
Diagrammatic representation of
Classical liver lobule
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Composition of a lobule already discussed
In the previous slides.
The Portal Lobule of liver
Portal lobule is a functional unit centered
around the bile ductule in the portal area.
It is defined as a triangular area consisting
of the parenchyma of three adjacent hepatic
lobules that are drained by the bile ductule
in the portal canal.
Liver acinus
Liver acinus is a unit of parenchyma
defined in relation to its vascular supply.
The liver acinus is a roughly diamond
shaped area made of parts of two hepatic
lobules supplied by terminal branches of
the interlobular portal vein and hepatic
artery. The blood vessels course at right
angles from the portal area between two
hepatic lobules to form backbone of the
acinus, and the two central veins are at
the two opposing points of the diamond.
The liver acinus is divided into three
Zones: zone1, 2, and 3.
Diagrammatic representation showing lining cell of the
sinusoids and space of Disse
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Lining cells of the sinusoids are:
(1) Porous endothelial cell
(2) Von Kupffer cell: Macrophage, &
(3) Perisinusoidal stellate cells or
adipocyte, or Ito cell, which store
vitamin A.
 Space of Disse is the space in between
endothelium of the sinusoids and hepato
-cytes. Here the exchange of the
metabolites takes place.
Basic structure of Liver Lobule showing Flow of
Blood and Bile
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Basic Structure of Liver Lobule Showing
Flow of Blood and Bile
Flow of blood and bile in the hepatic
Lobule is opposite in direction