Structure and ultrastructure of the liver in the domestic fowl, Gallus gallus

Abstract

Electron‐microscopy, histology and the preparation of latex corrosion casts were the principal techniques employed. The terminal twigs of the portal and hepatic venous systems inter‐digitate with one another, and are connected by a short network of sinusoids in both central and peripheral regions of the liver. The liver lobule is an elongated unit of hepatic cells with a polygonal cross‐section containing a three‐dimensional lattice of interconnected sinusoids. Lobules are not discrete vascular units as sinusoidal connections join them together. The parenchyma consists of anastomosing sheets of hepatic cells which enclose the sinusoids. Each sheet is two cells thick. Bile canaliculi are formed as intercellular spaces at the apices of three, four or five hepatic cells, and are surrounded by a condensed homogeneous zone of cytoplasm. They do not enclose individual cells (as in the mammal) but course between the two cell layers of the sheet. The electron‐microscopical structure differs from that of the mammal in that the sinusoidal endothelium is fenestrated and partially discontinuous. Intercellular spaces frequently contain white blood cells. A basement membrane underlies the sinusoidal endothelium but it is poorly developed and, in many places, discontinuous.

Changes in collagen fiber content and hepatic stellate cell distribution in the liver of chick embryos and growing chickens

“…Liver tissue in mammals is usually characterized by numerous hepatic lobules that are distinguished from each other by interlobular connective tissue septa. However, a distinctive interlobular connective tissue layer does not exist in the chicken liver (Purton 1969; Nishimura et al . 2009).…”

The comparison of the collagen fiber contents and hepatic stellate cell distribution in male and female chicken livers

“…As the interlobular connective tissue in the chicken liver does not develop well, the outline of the hepatic lobule is quite obscure (Purton 1969; Nishimura et al . 2009).…”

Scanning Electron Microscopic Study of Vascular and Biliary Casts in Chicken and Duck Liver

“…There are few reports about the fine structure of avian hepatic blood vessels and bile ducts. Histological observations of the liver in some birds (chicken, duck, coot, and ostrich) have revealed that the parenchyma is made up of anastomosing hepatic laminae, which are two cells thick [8,15,16]. Subsequent examination of duck liver by SEM reveals that the hepatocytes are arranged in the form of a three-dimensional meshwork of anastomosing cords, which interlock with a similar mesh of sinusoidal vessels [1].…”

“…Each cord consists of 4-6 cells arranged around a central biliary capillary [1]. In duck, the biliary capillary is formed as an extracellular space at the center of a hepatocyte cord; side branches of the capillary run between adjacent hepatocytes to drain into the central capillaries [1,15]. However, the highly developed passeriformes consistently exhibit hepatic cell plates that are one cell thick; some of the more primitive birds have cell plates that are both one and two cells thick [8].…”

“…In chicken and duck liver, the hepatocyte cords frequently branch and anastomose to form a complex meshwork [1,8]. The sinusoidal vessels run vertically around each hepatocyte cord [8,15]. However, it has also been reported that a very short network of sinusoidal vessels separates the terminal branches of the portal and hepatic venous systems in both mammalian and avian liver.…”