Macro-Microscopic Characteristics of the Glands of the Hepatic Ducts in Postnatal Human Ontogenesis

Abstract

The aim was to study the macro-microanatomy and morphometric characteristics of the glands of the right, left and common hepatic ducts in people of different ages under conditions of relative norm.Material and methods. The experimental material included a complex consisting of the left, right and common hepatic ducts obtained from the corpses of 126 persons of different age groups who died from causes not related to the pathology of the digestive system. The glands of the hepatic ducts were selectively stained with methylene blue according to R.D. Sinelnikov, followed by fixation in a saturated solution of ammonium picric acid. The macroscopic structure and microstructure of gels were studied using an MBS-9 stereomicroscope. The analysis included the percentage of glands with different numbers of initial divisions. The studied morphometric parameters included the total number of glands, the length and width of their initial part. Methods of parametric statistics based on the Statistica 6.0 software were used for statistical data processing. Statistical data processing included the calculation of the arithmetic mean indicators, their errors, the analysis of the amplitude of the variation series of each indicator was carried out.Results. According to the results of the study, the number of glands in the walls of the common hepatic duct during postnatal ontogenesis was 1.30–1.84 times higher (p<0.05) compared to the right hepatic duct and 1.39–2.13 times higher (p<0.05) than the same indicator in the walls of the left hepatic duct. There was also a tendency according to which the size of the initial section of the glands of the common hepatic duct was larger than that of the right and left hepatic ducts. The minimum and maximum individual values of the total number of glands, the length and width of the initial section in the walls of the common hepatic duct were also higher in comparison with the analogous parameters of the right and left hepatic ducts.Conclusion. Age-related, regional and individual characteristics of the number and size of the glands of the hepatic ducts have been revealed; variants of the shape of the glands in different age periods have been determined, which is important not only for the development of a new scientific direction – morphological exocrinology, but also for gastroenterology, surgery of the extrahepatic biliary tract.