J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 92(6): 681-688, 1991

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Original article

MECHANISM OF RETARDATION OF OBSTRUCTIVE JAUNDICE: PATHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF ALTERATION IN BILE FLOW

The morphological and functional alterations of hepatocytes were investigated on autopsy cases of human obstructive jaundice and experimentally common bile duct ligated rats. The livers were morphologically observed by light and electron microscopes, and in order to make clear the mechanism of bile flow, horse radish peroxidase (HRP) was injected in male Wistar rats from the inferior mesenteric vein and administrated in retrograde from the common bile duct. In the extrahepatic bile duct obstruction, bile canaliculi were dilated and canalicular microvilli were decreased in number and showed bleb formation, and pericanalicular filamentous structure formed thick network. Injected HRP as a tracer was not presented in the luminar and intercellular space of hepatocytes, and administrated HRP in retrograde was presented in the intercellular space through tight junction from bile canaliculi and presented pericanalicular cytoplasmic vesicles. These results suggest that extrahepatic bile duct obstruction induces morphological change in pericanalicular regions and the functional abnormality in the membrane structure of hepatocytes may be persistent cholestasis.

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