Unit 4 - Liver 2 Flashcards
What does Fusobacterium necrophorum do to the liver?
it causes liver necrosis
What is the pathogenesis of liver necrosis caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum?
- Fusobacterium necrophorum is present in the rumen 2. Ruminal acidosis 3. Loss of ruminal mucosal integrity 4. Fusobacterium necrophorum enters portal circulation 5. Liver becomes infected 6. liver necrosis
What microscopic pattern is observed in a liver with an ascending bacterial infection via the biliary tree?
there is inflammation involving the bile ducts and adjacent liver with neutrophils as an infiltrate (+/- lymphocytes and plasma cells)
What two liver flukes are the cause of hepatic trematodosis in the United States?
Fasciola hepatica and Fascioloides magna
How can liver flukes cause liver damage?
- the larvae wonder through the liver for more than a month causing necrosis with eosinophils and fibrous tracts or 2. adults in the bile ducts or in cysts in the liver causing cholangiohepatitis
What liver lesion is associated with ascarid larval migration in the pig?
milk spot liver - randomly scattered irregular, slightly depressed, firm, white lesions
What typically causes hepatic necrosis?
hypoxia and hepatotoxins
What gross lesions are associated with hepatic necrosis?
diffuse injury to a specific region of the hepatic lobule leads to an accentuated lobular pattern
Microscopically, what does centrilobular necrosis indicate as the potential differential?
hypoxia or metabolized hepatotoxins
Microscopically, what does mid-zonal necrosis indicate as the potential differential?
hexachlorophene or alphatoxins
Microscopically, what does periportal necrosis indicate as the potential differential?
direct-acting hepatotoxins
Microscopically, what does massive neccrosis indicate as a potential differential?
specific toxins or specific infectious agents
What are some special attributes of the centrilobular region?
part of the lobule with the lowest oxygen tension and part of the lobule with the greatest concentration of cytochrome P-450 mixed function oxidases
What is the most common cause of centrilobular necrosis?
hypoxia
What can cause hypoxia?
anemia, pneumonia/pulmonary edema, passive congestion due to heart failure, or shock
Where is the highest concentration of mixed function oxidases found?
in centrilobular hepatocytes
What gross changes are seen with centrilobular necrosis?
you will see an accentuated lobular pattern +/- hepatomegaly
What microscopic changes do you see with centrilobular necrosis?
dgeneration and loss of centrilobular hepatocytes
What are the two major types of hepatotoxins?
toxins that cause direct hepatocellular injury or toxins that are transformed by liver to toxic metabolies
Where is the expected pattern of injury to occur with toxins that cause direct hepatocellular injury?
periportal
Where is the expected pattern of injury to occur with toxins transformed by the liver into toxic metabolites?
centrilobular
What does carbon tetrachloride metabolize into and what does it do to the liver?
trihalomethane leads to oxygen free radical formation and centrilobular hepatocyte necrosis
Where does periportal necrosis occur?
around vessels in portal triads
What is periportal necrosis seen most commonly with?
direct-acting hepatotoxins
Midzonal necrosis is uncommon. What species is it seen in and why?
it is seen in pigs and horses with aflatoxicosis and cats with hexachlorophene
What can cause massive hepatic necrosis?
toxins, infectious agents, and nutrition
What are some examples of causes of massive hepatic necrosis?
hepatosis dietetica (swine), blue-green algae, poisonous mushrooms
Can the liver regenerate itself?
yes, when needed it has remarkable regenerative abilities by replicating mature hepatocytes and progenitor cells
What are some consequences of severe and/or chronic injury to the liver?
fibrosis, biliary proliferation, or nodular regeneration
What does fibrosis result from?
repetitive injury or massive necrosis with damage to ECM scaffold
What is the process of fibrosis in the liver?
the activated hepatic stellate cells proliferate and produce increased extracellular matrix