The Nature of “Watery Vacuolation” of the Liver Cell

Abstract

The intravenous injection of ferric carboxymethyldextran in isotonic or hypertonic saline in mice leads to the almost instantaneous formation of “watery vacuoles” in the cytoplasm of the liver cells. In specimens fixed by the method of freeze‐drying the vacuolar content gave a positive reaction with the Prussian blue stain for iron, thus showing that some of the injected material had penetrated into the liver cell. This is taken as evidence for the hæmatogenous origin of the vacuolar content. The possibility is considered that there is only one type of “watery vacuolation” despite differences in the chemical composition of the vacuolar content.

Electron microscopy of the rat liver cell after partial hepatectomy

“…

1960) published an electron-microscope study of the vacuolation produced in the liver cells of experimental animals by hypoxia. Their findings are similar to those which I now report on the vacuolation of the rat liver cell that develops after partial hepatectomy.

METHODSThe design of the present experiment was similar to one reported earlier (Aterman, 1952). Ten male rats, each weighing 150-200 g., were subjected to partial hepatectomy, and the liver remnant was studied at intervals from 6 to 48 hr after operation.

…”

“…Neither in the series reported by Bassi et al nor in the present series have there been changes that could be interpreted as indicating transformation of mitochondria into vacuoles. Electron microscopy confirmed the conclusions arrived at by the study of well-preserved freeze-dried specimens in the light microscope (Aterman, 1955(Aterman, , 1958b. The electron-microscope studies suggest that confluence of several small adjacent vacuoles into larger ones can take place, possibly by a breakdown of the intervening relatively fine layers of cytoplasm, thus leading perhaps to the incorporation of mitochondria into the vacuolar content.…”

“…After partial hepatectomy, vacuoles containing some material staining with the periodic acid-Schiff reagent, but neither fat nor glycogen, can be seen with the light microscope in sections taken from the liver remnant of some animals (Aterman, 1952). With the electron microscope, vacuoles of varying sizes, ranging from about 0.5 p to almost nuclear dimensions, were demonstrable throughout the cytoplasm of the liver cell.…”

“…The larger vacuoles occasionally indent the nucleus ( fig. 2), a feature that is characteristic of some of these vacuoles with the light microscope (Aterman, 1955(Aterman, , 1958a. The vacuoles always appeared less dense than the cytoplasm surrounding them, and frequently the characteristic structure of the cytoplasm could be seen in the background of the vacuolar content.…”

“…The design of the present experiment was similar to one reported earlier (Aterman, 1952). Ten male rats, each weighing 150-200 g., were subjected to partial hepatectomy, and the liver remnant was studied at intervals from 6 to 48 hr after operation.…”