320 DIGESTION". 



The hepatic duct divides and subdivides in a manner 

 very like that of the portal vein and hepatic artery, the 

 larger branches being lined by cylindrical, and the smaller 



Fif/. 89.* 



by small polygonal epithelium. The exact arrangement of 

 its terminal branches, however, and their relatoin to the 

 liver-cells have not been clearly made out, or, at least, have 

 not been agreed upon by different observers. The chief 

 theories on the subject are three in number : 



1. That the terminal branches of the hepatic duct form 

 an interlobular network, which abuts on the outermost 

 cells of a lobule, but does not enter the inside of the 

 lobule, or only for a little way. 



2. That minute branches begin in the lobules between 

 the cells, not enclosing them. 



3. That the ultimate branches begin in the lobules and 

 enclose hepatic cells. 



* Fig. 89. Capillary network of the lobules of the rabbit's liver 

 (from Kolliker), ~. The figure is taken from a very successful injec- 

 tion of the hepatic veins, made by Harting : it shows nearly the whole 

 of two lobules, and parts of three others ; p, portal branches running in 

 the interlobular spaces ; A, hepatic veins penetrating and radiating from 

 the centre of the lobules. 



