Liver, Gallbladder, and Pancreas Flashcards
what are the extramural organs of the digestive system?
liver and pancreas
what organ is considered the digestive system’s storage organ?
gallbladder
What are the endocrine functions of the liver?
synthesis and release of products into the blood (ie: plasma proteins)
what is the exocrine function of the liver?
production of bile
what is the largest gland in the body?
the liver
what is the parenchyma of the liver?
organized plates of hepatocytes separated by sinusoids
what type of tissue is found in the fibrous stroma of the liver?
type I collagenous tissue
what does the fibrous stroma of the liver do?
forms a thin capsule that surrounds vessels and ducts and provides some separation into lobules
what is the function of the reticular stroma? what type of tissue is found here?
provides a supporting network for the hepatocytes and sinusoids; formed by reticular fibers
What enters that the liver hilus? what exits?
blood vessels enter, bile duct exits
what percent of afferent blood is carried by the portal vein?
75%
what type of blood does the portal vein carry? what is it rich/poor in? where does the blood come from?
carries afferent blood that is rich in nutrients (and some potential toxins) but poor in oxygen;
it comes from the capillary beds of the intestines
What type of blood does the hepatic artery carry? what is it rich/poor in? where does the blood come from
carries afferent blood that is rich in oxygen;
comes from the left ventricle of the heart
what percentage of afferent blood is carried by the hepatic artery?
25%
Describe Hepatic blood flow:
- Portal vein picks up blood from capillaries / hepatic artery gets blood from Left ventricle and carries it to:
- Interloular branches
- sinusoids
- central vein
- sublobular veins
- Hepatic veins
- Inferior vena cava
- Right atrium
How does Bile exit the liver? where is it produced? how does it flow in relation to blood?
Bile is produced by the hepatocytes in the liver and flows out of the liver via a duct system that follows the arterial tree towards the hilus;
bile flows in the opposite direction as blood
Describe the anatomic/classic lobule
hexagonal lobules that contain radial arrays of plates of hepatocytes
what is each anatomic lobule centered around? what borders each corner?
centered around a central vein;
bordered at each corner by a portal canal (portal triad + CT)
What does a portal canal consist of?
portal triad + CT
what does a portal triad consist of?
interlobular branches of portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct
Where do the terminal branches of the portal veins and hepatic arteries run?
between lobules;
Where do terminal branches of the portal veins and hepatic arteries empty their blood into?
empty blood into sinusoids where the blood is mixed
Where do the hepatic sinusoid run? where do they carry blood to?
run between the plates of cells; carry blood to central vein (terminal hepatic venule)
what flows through the intercellular canaliculi? where does this substance flow after the intercellular canaliculi?
Bile;
flow: intercellular canaliculi – canals of Hering – interlobular bile ducts
what does the portal lobule center on?
the bile ductule
what does the portal lobule contain?
parts of 3 adjacent anatomic lobules, including any hepatocytes that supply bile to a particular bile ductule in the portal canal
What is a liver acinus? what is it’s main focus? what is another name for the liver acinus?
its a functional lobule that focuses on the delivery of blood to hepatocytes;
aka “Rappaport’s lobule”
is the liver acinus capsulated?
no
What is the liver acinus organized around?
an axis containing the terminal branches of the portal vein and hepatic artery
what does the liver acinus include?
any hepatocytes that are supplied with blood by a particular set of terminal branches that run between the two lobules
Describe how the hepatocytes receive blood in the Rappaport lobule
the cells in the center of the lobule (zone 1) are the first to receive oxygen, nutrients, and toxins; then Zone 2, then Zone 3 which is adjacent to the central vein
Which zone of the rappaport lobule is most prone to hypoxia?
zone 3; it is last to be affected by incoming agents and exposed to relatively low oxygen levels
where is the nuclei located in hepatocytes?
centrally
Are hepatocytes bincucleate? polypoid?
both!
What do hepatocytes border?
- border on sinusoids with intervening space of disse into which microvilli project
- Bile canaliculi
what are bile canaliculi? what are they formed/sealed by?
channels that are formed by the plasma membrane of adjacent hepatocytes and are sealed off by junctional complexes
what organelles/ inclusions are prominent in hepatocytes?
- rER
- sER
- Golgi
- lysosomes
- peroxisomes
- GLYCOGEN INCLUSION
can hepatocytes regenerate?
yes, but new cells do not establish proper relationships
What are the functions of the hepatocytes?
- Synthesis of plasma proteins (by rER)
- Detoxification of lipid soluble drugs/steroids
- Fat Metabolism
- Glycogen synthesis, storage, and release
- Storage of iron
- Metabolism of alcohol
- Production of bile
- Metabolism of vitamin A,D,E
What plasma proteins are produced by the rER of Hepatocytes?
albumin, fibrinogen, prothrombin, and coagulation factors
where are plasma proteins in the hepatocytes released?
into the space of Disse
How are lipid soluable drugs and steroids detoxified in hepatocytes?
hepatocytes transform nonpolar compounds into polar metabolites that can be eliminated by the kidneys
How are hepatocytes involved in Fat metabolism?
- Chylomicra undergo lipolysis in the circular and deliver fatty acids to tissues, but the remnants are taken up by hepatocytes and metabolized. The fatty acids are esterified to triglycerides by the sER
- some triglycerides are stored as fat droplets; most are coated with a mixture of proteins, cholesterol and phospholipids and are released in the plasma as VLDL (very low density lipid) particles
what organelles/cellular components are involved with glycogen synthesis, storage and release in hepatocytes?
sER and cytosol
What is iron stores as in hepatocytes
ferritin or hemosiderin granules
How is alcohol metabolized in hepatocytes?
through the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) pathway, producing acetaldehyde and acetate
what does chronic intake of alcohol active? what does this produce?
activates the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS) which produces acetaldehyde and an excess of oxygen radicals. **Reactive oxygen damages hepatocyte plasma membranes
What materials do hepatocytes produce/release that are necessary for the production of bile? what do these material join to form bile?
cholesterol, phospholipids, bile salts, glucuronide conjugated bilirubin from the hepatocytes join electrolytes and metabolites of drugs and heavy metals into bile canaliculi as bile
What in canalicular plasma membrane mediates bile excretion?
specific ATP dependent transporters
What is bile secretion dependent on? is it continuous?
bile secretion is continuous; with the rate dependent primarily on blood flow to the liver