HISTOLOGY 



125 



Glisson are branches of the hepatic artery and of the portal vein. Accord- 

 ijig to Higgins (47), "Two rather large hepatic ducts accompany each main 

 branch of the portal vein, through the lobes of the liver, while usually but a 

 single one follows the smaller distal branches of the vein. Branches of the 

 hepatic vein are not associated with bile ducts." 



The cords of liver cells radiating from the central veins are separated 

 from each other by the hepatic sinusoids, which connect the branches of the 

 portal veins with the central intralobular veins. They also receive blood 



Intralobular 

 vein 



Capsule 



Gall bladder 



Liver and gall bladder. (X75.) 



from branches of the hepatic artery. The network of reticular fibers which 

 surrounds the sinusoids is a continuation of the fibers of the capsule of 

 Glisson. 



The sinusoids are lined by two kinds of cells: the undifferentiated 

 reticular cells, possessing small, dark staining, elongated nuclei, and the 

 stellate cells of Kupffer, containing large oval nuclei. The cells of Kupffer 

 are phagocytic and often contain pigment granules. 



The liver cells are large polygonal cells with large round nuclei. The 

 presence of two nuclei in a cell is frequent. Mitosis is rarely seen in the 

 normal liver of an adult animal. The cytoplasm is extremely variable in 

 appearance, depending on the functional state and the amount of glycogen 

 or fat in the cell. The cell outline is often indistinct. 



The bile canaliculi are present between adjacent liver cells and require 

 special methods for demonstration. The canaUculi of one liver cell cord 



