THE LIVER 



97 



the substance of the lobule and enter the central vein (Fig. 50). 

 The sinusoids differ from ordinary capillaries in being wider, and 

 in the more extreme thinness and the irregularity of their endo- 

 thelial walls, the cells of which are phagocytic and specially closely 

 adherent to the glandular epithelium. In the cords of hepatic 

 cells, delicate bile capillaries receive their secretion and carry it 

 from the centre of the lobule towards the periphery, where they 



Fig. 50. Diagram of a cross section of a single liver lobule. The 

 sinusoids are represented only in the left half of the diagram in order that 

 the relations of the bile capillaries may be clearer on the right: ah, branch 

 of hepatic artery; an, anastomosis between two branches of the hepatic artery; 

 db, intrahepatic bile duct; 1, lymphatic vessel; Ic, lymphatic capillaries; 

 s, sinusoids; vc, central vein; vp, branch of portal vein. 



converge into the tributaries of the intrahepatic bile ducts which 

 accompany the arteries and veins between the lobules and in turn 

 unite to form the hepatic ducts. Lymphatic capillaries occur 

 between the lobules but do not penetrate them. It is claimed that 

 between the endothelium of the sinusoids and the hepatic cells 

 there is an extremely thin film of tissue fluid which seeps out to 

 the periphery of the lobule and is there absorbed by lymphatic 

 capillaries, but some authorities deny this. 



