Histology of Liver

Dr Muhammad Ressam Nazir

Intro
The liver is one of the largest and most important organs in the body. The bulk of the liver consists of hepatocytes, which are epithelial cells with a unique configuration. Essentially an exocrine gland, secreting bile into the intestine.
But, the liver is also an endocrine gland and a blood filter.

Functions
It's functions include all of the following:
formation and secretion of bile. storage of glycogen, buffer for blood glucose. synthesis of urea. metabolism of cholesterol and fat. synthesis and endocrine secretion of many plasma proteins, including clotting factors. detoxification of many drugs and other poisons. cleansing of bacteria from blood. processing of several steroid hormones and vitamin D. volume reservoir for blood. catabolism of hemoglobin from worn-out red blood cells.

Much of the liver's organization is conditioned by its central role in removing unwanted materials from blood and otherwise maintaining the blood's normal composition.

Dual vascular supply

The liver receives a dual vascular supply.
The hepatic portal vein brings to the liver all of the blood which has previously passed through the intestine and spleen. The hepatic artery brings fresh, oxygenated blood from the aorta.

Portal venous blood from the intestine and spleen and arterial blood from the aorta mix together in hepatic sinusoids before leaving the liver in the hepatic vein. The liver receives over 25% of the total resting cardiac output and is responsible for over 20% of the body's resting oxygen consumption.

Organization of Liver Lobules

The liver is organized into lobules (portal lobules, hepatic lobules) which take the shape of hexagone. (6 sides) Each lobule is typically hexagonal in cross section and is centered on a branch of the hepatic vein (called the central vein). At the corners between adjacent lobules are the so-called portal triad (portal canals, portal areas). These are regions of connective tissue which include branches of the bile duct, the portal vein, and the hepatic artery. The portal areas represent the stroma of the liver. Along the central axis of each lobule runs a central vein, which is a branch of the hepatic vein.

Portal triad of liver

Portal triads have:
1) 2) Hepatic artery Portal vein, and

3)

Bile duct

How to look under a microscope?

The lobular organization of the human liver is not immediately evident under the microscope. Lobules do not have distinct boundaries, and they are seldom cut neatly in cross section. To visualize lobules, first locate several portal areas (small patches of
connective tissue each containing a duct, a large vein, and a small artery).
Mark the corners where lobules come together.

Then look for central veins (conspicuous spaces, with no associated connective
tissue, located roughly midway between portal areas.)
These central veins mark the centers of lobules.

Hepatic Cords
The bulk of the liver consists of epithelial hepatocytes arranged into cords, separated by vascular sinusoids. Each hepatocyte is attached to its neighbors all around and faces the sinusoids at either end. The sinusoids are vascular spaces lined by a fenestrated endothelium (i.e., an endothelium that is full of holes). This endothelium has no underlying basement membrane. Therefore, the fenestrations permit blood plasma to wash freely over the exposed surfaces of the hepatocytes in the space of Disse.

Space of Disse
The space between the endothelium and the cords is named the space of Disse. Its location is that of connective tissue, and it does contain a network of reticular fibers (collagen type III) (and fibroblasts) which hold the hepatocytes together. Bile canaliculi, formed by apical surfaces of adjacent hepatocytes, form a network of tiny passages contained within each cord.

Associated with the sinusoids are stellate Kupffer cells -- liver macrophages which effectively catch and destroy bacteria which entered the blood in the intestine.

 Stellate Ito cells, located at intervals within the space of Disse, store fat and vitamin A.

Different Organization of Liver Lobules

The two-dimensional microarchitecture of the liver can be viewed from multiple different perspectives.

Name
Classical/hepatic lobule

Shape
Hexagonal; divided into concentric centrilobular, midzonal, periportal parts

Model

Anatomical

Portal lobule

Triangular; centered around a portal triad

Bile secretion

Liver acinus

Elliptical or diamond-shaped; divided into zone Blood flow and I (periportal), zone II (transition zone), and metabolic zone III (pericentral)

Classical/hepatic lobule

Portal lobule
This is based mainly on the direction of bile flow. It is a triangular region with a portal triad at its center and a central vein at each of its three corners. It contains portions of three adjacent classic liver lobules all of which drain bile into one portal canal.

Liver acinus
The acinus is roughly divided into zones that correspond to distance from the arterial blood supply. Those hepatocytes closest to the arterioles (zone 1 below) are the best oxygenated, while those farthest from the arterioles have the poorest supply of oxygen. This arrangement also means that cells in the center of the acinus (again, zone 1) are the first to "see" and potentially absorb blood-borne toxins absorbed into portal blood from the small intestine.

Thank You
ANY QUESTIONS?