LIVER MURALIUM


THE HEPATOCYTE

Two adjacent hepatocytes.
Notice the sinusoidal space, endothelial lining, the Disse space and the bile canaliculus with villi. Their nuclei are large and they have numerous mitochondria in the cytoplasm which provide energy to these very active cells.
Fig 21 -A normal adult human liver contains approximately 100 billion hepatocytes.They form one cell thick walls (plates) running from portal space to central veins.About20 cells cover this distance. They are continuously renewed,proliferating near the portal space and dieing near the central vein . Their life span is probably from 50 to 300 days.They are 30 microns in diameter.They are polarized cells with a sinusoidal surface,a biliary surface and lateral surfaces.The sinusoidal surface is covered by microvilli visible only with electron microscopy.The villi enhance 6 folds the sinusoidal surface . The villi float in the Disse space.The biliary surface forms the wall of the bile canaliculus and functions as secretory apparatus for bile and products to be discharged into the biliary tract. The lateral surfaces are attached to adjacent hepatocytes by intercellular junctions. .







CONTENTS | CYTOPLASMIC ORGANELLES