Chapter 9: Hepatobiliary System
Keywords
Please familiarize yourself with these keywords before you start reading the chapter:
- Bile
- A fluid composed of water, bilirubin, cholesterol, electrolytes and bile salts that is generated within the liver.
- Bilirubin
- An intermediate product of erythrocyte-derived heme breakdown. Bilirubin is conjugated (made soluble) by hepatocytes, and secreted into bile canaliculi as a component of bile.
- Hepatic sinusoids
- The narrow vascular spaces that run parallel to hepatic cords and transport blood from the hepatic arteries and portal veins towards the central vein. The endothelial cells forming hepatic sinusoids are fenestrated, allowing for molecules to readily cross the endothelium and be taken-up by hepatocytes.
- Ito cells
- Interstitial cells located within the Space of Disse that function to store vitamin A and contribute to collagen deposition in tissue repair (healing).
- Kupffer cells
- Resident tissue macrophages of the liver located within the hepatic sinusoids.
- Portal triad (portal tract)
- A connective tissue structure within the liver that contains three prominent structures: bile ductule, hepatic artery, and portal vein. In addition. lymphatics are also located within the portal tracts.
- Space of Disse
- The narrow space (not discernible by light microscopy) between hepatocytes and the hepatic sinusoids.
