Organisation and Function of the Liver Flashcards
State Courvoisier’s Law.
In the presence of an enlarged gallbladder that is non-tender and accompanied with mild jaundice, the cause is unlikely to be gallstones.
What is Calot’s triangle?
It is the triangular space that is dissected in a cholecystectomy to identify a window to safely expose the gallbladder. Demarcated by: common hepatic duct, cystic duct and the cystic artery
Where is the origin of the liver and biliary system in the gut tube?
Distal part of the foregut and the proximal midgut
What system is used to describe liver development?
Carnegie System - 23 stages - first 60 days of development
What is the septum transversum?
A thick mass of cranial mesenchyme that gives rise to parts of the thoracic diaphragm and ventral mesentery of the foregut - the septum transversum arises from the mesoderm
Around when does the liver bud become apparent?
29 days
What three structures form from the initial endodermal sprout?
Liver, Gallbladder and Ventral bud of the pancreas
When does the liver rotate to the right?
10 weeks
What proportion of the blood supply to the liver is via a) hepatic portal vein and b) hepatic artery proper?
Hepatic portal vein - 80%
Hepatic artery proper - 20%
The liver receives 25% of the cardiac output
Describe the Couinaud classification of the liver segments.
8 functionally independent segments - starting with 1 centrally and then going clockwise. Each segment can be resected without damaging the remaining segments.
State the five main cell types of the liver?
Hepatocytes Endothelial Cells (sinusoidal) Cholangiocytes Hepatic Stellate Cells Kupffer Cells
Where is bile produced?
Hepatocytes
And, to a lesser extent, in the cholangiocytes
Describe the morphological divisions of the liver.
Divided into lobules and portal tracts/triads
Describe the functional divisions of the liver.
Acini, blood flow, bile flow
What is a lobule?
An area of the liver that is at a HISTOLOGICAL scale. Hexagonal.
