Section 3A Flashcards
Each lobe of the liver are composed of functional units called what?
Lobules
The liver consists of what 4 lobes?
Right
Left
Quadrate
Caudate
In the lobules, blood flows past hepatocytes via what?
Sinusoids
What makes up the portal triad?
- Branch of Portal vein
- Branch of Hepatic artery
- Bile duct
- ……. Lymphatic vessel
Inside some of the sinusoids are hepatic macrophages called what? What is their function?
Kupffer cells
Remove debris such as bacteria and worn-out blood cells
Tiny ducts called what run parallel to the sinusoids and drain bile produced by hepatocytes
bile canaliculi
Within each lobule, hepatocytes are arranged into what?
Hepatic cords
Describe the arterial and portal blood flow through the liver
- Liver sinusoids
- Central vein
- Hepatic vein
- Inferior Vena Cava
- Right Atrium
What endothelium lines the sinusoids?
Fenestrated epithelium
T or F, Fenestrated endothelium of sinusoids has NO underlying basement membrane
True
Do the fenestrations permit blood plasma to interact with hepatocytes?
Yes, the fenestrations do permit blood plasma to wash over the exposed surface of the hepatocytes in the space of disse
What is the Space of Disse (perisinusoidal space)
The space between the fenestrated epithelium and hepatocytes that allows the blood plasma in sinusoids to wash freely over hepatocytes
Which direction is sinusoidal blood flow?
Towards the central vein
The ease with which substances in plasma move freely into the spaces of disse requires that the liver have what?
It must have an extremely high lymph flow to prevent accumulation of interstitial fluid.
What occurs if the pressure of portal vein and sinusoids increases?
Excessive amounts of fluid begin to transude into the lymph and to leak through the outer surface of the liver capsule directly into the abdominal cavity producing ASCITES!
