Liver and Pancreas Pathology Flashcards
What is contained within the portal areas?
- Portal vein [nutrients from SI]
- Hepatic artery [oxygen]
- Bile ducts
Where do the radiating hepatocytes converge?
Central vein
What are the 3 hepatic zones?
- Periportal (centroacinar): around portal triads
- Midzonal
- Centrilobular (periacinar: bordering hepatic venules
What is the main congenital/developmental disorder of the liver? What other form exists?
Portosystemic shunt
- Congenital: shunting blood to vena cava, azygous or renal vein, usually single communication between vessels, easily surgically treatable
- Acquired: shunts 2* to fibrosis of the liver in older animals, multiple thin walled shunts -> more difficult to treat
What is the limiting plate?
Area around portal triad - used to decide whether inflammation is contained within portal tract or has spread to hepatocytes
How may portosystemic shunt be diagnosed microscopically?
Biopsy -> microscope -> If portal vein is missing then shunt is present
Give 5 other congenital/developmental disorders of the liver
- Congenital cysts (mostly biliary, mainly in cats [also dogs and pigs] may be multiple, no sig)
- Displacements (congenital or acquired, eg. diaphragmatic hernia)
- Tension lipidosis (focal subcapsular fatty change where liver attaches to diaphragm, may be due to local chronic ischamiea)
- Capsular fibrosis (common older horses due to migrating parasites or foci of non-septic peritonitis)
- Telangiectasis (normal, foci of sinusoidal dilatation esp cats and cattle)
How does passive venous congestion affect the liver grossly and microscopically?
- Enlarged with rounded borders
- Oozes blood on cut surface
- NUTMEG liver (enhanced lobular pattern due to areas of fatty change and congestion)
- Microscopically
> hepatic venules and sinunois engorged
> periacinar areas congested and hepatocytes atrophied
> periportal areas fatty change -> pale colour
Would heart failure persist long enough for the entire liver to degenerate?
No
Give 4 common disorders of of pigmentation
- Melanin (congenital melanosis in calves and lambs, no sig)
- Haemosiderin due to chronic passive venous congestion (nutmeg liver, of potential significance)
- Bile (obstructive jaundice, sig)
- Lipofiscin or ceroid (brown, comes with aging, no sig)
What is hydropic change? Is it common? Is it revesible?
> A vacuolar hepatopathy
Influx of H20 -> cells -> swelling
- Common
- Reversible
What may cause hydropic change?
- hypoxia
- mild toxic damage
- metabolic stress `
What pathologic change may appear similar to hydropic change? What may cause this?
Glycogen accumulation (gylcogenosis) - Hyperadrenocorticsim (Cushings) may cause this
What would be seen with glycogen accumulation? Is this reversible?
Multifocal/diffuse swelling and vacuolation in hepatocytes
- Enlarged pale liver (Severe cases; steroid hepatopathy)
> reversible!
When is lipidosis (fatty liver) seen (4)?
1 - Obesity and starvation (esp cats)
2 - ^ energy demand (pregnancy, lactation, starvation) -> mobilisation of fat stores
3 - Disease (eg. diabetes mellitis, ketosis, pregnancy toxaemia)
4 - Abnormal hepatocyte function (prevents fatty acids complexing protein -> LDL; leading to accumulation)
Is lipidosis reversible?
NO
How common are lysosomal storage diseases?
Rare
What are the causes of lysosomal storage diseases?
- inherited deficiency of lysosomal enzymes -> neuro disease
- macrophages containing stored material accumulate at MULTIPLE sites (LNs, liver, CNS) Liver easiest to biopsy [may be diagnosed at PM]
How common is amyloidosis?
Uncommon
What is the pathophysiology of amyloidosis? What forms exist?
- substance deposited under endothelium and basement membrane of variety of tissues (renal glomeruli, islets of Langerhans, liver)
- 1, 2, endocrine associated
How does amyloidosis appear grossly and mmicrscopically?
- Gross: pale, enlarged and friable liver
- Microscopic: Homogenous acidophilic material
- shows green birefringence when stained with congo red
- results in displacement and atrophy of hepatocytes
What 4 reasons may necrosis occour?
- Ischaemia
- Toxinc damage
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Microbial infection
What are the 3 patterns of necrosis? What pathologies are these associated with?
- Random: EHV-1, salmonella
- Zonal: Ichaemia, toxic damage
- Massive: Hepatosis dietetica
What is hepatosis dietetica?
Vit D and selenium deficiency disorder in pigs