STRUCTUEE OF THE LOBULES. 



387 



The lobules of the liver have, throughout its substance, in general 

 the polyhedral form of irregularly compressed spheroids ; but on the 

 surface they are flattened and angular. They are all compactly ar- 



Fis. 274. 



Fig. 274. — Section op a Portion of Liver passing Longitudinally TiiROtroH A 

 CONSIDERABLE Hepatic Vein, froji THE PiG (after Kiernan). About 5 Diameters. 



H, hepatic venous trunk, against which the sides of the lobules are applied ; li, h, h, 

 three sublobular hepatic veins, ou which the bases of the lobules rest, and through the 

 coats of which they are seen as polygonal figures ; i, mouth of the intralol)ular veins, 

 opening into the sublobular veins ; i!, intralobular veins shown passing up the centre 

 of some divided lobules ; c, c, walls of the hepatic venous canal, with the polygonal 

 bases of the lobules. 



ranged round the sides of branches of the hepatic veins (fig. 274), each 

 lobule resting by a smooth surfiice or hase, upon the vein, and being 

 connected with it by a small venous trunklet, which begins in the 

 centre of the lobule, and passes out from the middle of its base to end 

 in the larger subjacent vessel. The small veins proceeding from the 

 centre of the lobules are named the iniralohular or central veins {%), and 

 those on which the lobules rest, the suhhlular veins (A). If one of these 

 sublobular veins be opened (as in the figure), the bases of the lobules 

 may be seen through the coats of the vein, which are here veiy thin, 

 presenting a tesselated appearance, each little polygonal space nSpre- 

 senting the base of a lobule, and having in its centre a small spot, 

 which is the mouth of the intralobular vein (/). 



Each lobule consists of a mass of cells penetrated from the circum- 

 ference to the centre by a close network of blood capillaries, as well 

 as by the minute capillary commencements of the bile-ducts, with the 

 intervention of little other tissue. For the sake of clearness, the 

 disposition of the vessels of the liver may be considered first. 



c c 2 



