THE LIVER 409 



cells are suspended. The anastomosing strands of reticulum converge 

 from the periphery toward the center of the lobule, thus following the 

 course of the blood capillaries and cell columns. This reticular tissue 

 (Mall) exists in so small a quantity and is so extremely delicate that 

 although it can be readily studied after removal of the liver cells, as by 

 artificial digestion, in ordinary preparations except those of extreme 

 thinness it can scarcely be discovered in the minute clefts between the 

 cell columns and the blood capillaries. It differentiates, at least in part, 

 from the endothelium of the original venous sinusoids; the stellate cells 

 seen in Golgi preparations also represent endothelial elements. The 

 endothelial cells of the intralobular capillaries are actively phagocytic. 

 The volume of the interlobular connective tissue which forms Glis- 

 son's capsule varies greatly in 

 different animals. In the liver 

 of the pig and the camel this 

 tissue is very extensive, and 

 forms a complete investment for 

 each lobule. In man it is very 

 limited in amount and is con- J( 

 fined to minute areas between 

 the adjacent angles of the lo- 

 bules, with an occasional frag- FIG. 382. STELLATE CELLS OP VON KTTP- 

 ment separating the lateral sur- FER IN THE LIVER OF A DOG. 



faces of neighboring lobules. It g, capillary blood-vessel; I, hepatic cells; 



is in the latter portions, viz., be- f ' f ell ^ r c 1 f lls ; Gold chlorid - X 200 ' 



' (After Kolhker.) 



tween the opposed surfaces of 



the lobules, that the branches of the hepatic veins (sublobular veins) 

 are found. The interlobular veins, the subdivisions of the portal vein, 

 together with the bile ducts and the branches of the hepatic artery 

 are found at the angles of adjacent lobules; hence the portal canals, 

 which contain these vessels, should always be sought in this location, 

 while the sublobular veins, which run alone and -form no part of the 

 portal canals, will be found between the opposed surfaces of the lobules. 



The capsule of Glisson also contains many lymphatic vessels and non- 

 medullated nerve fibers. 



The Hepatic Lobule. The lobule is the structural unit of the 

 liver and consists chiefly of hepatic cells which are arranged in radiating 

 cords. In shape the lobule is an irregularly hexagonal pyramid, the 

 exact number of its faces being extremely variable. The periphery of 

 the lobule is outlined by the connective tissue of Glisson's capsule which 



