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The typical hepatocyte is cubical with sides of 20-30 μm, (in comparison, a human hair has a diameter of 17 to 180 μm). [1] The typical volume of a hepatocyte is 3.4 x 10 −9 cm 3. [2] Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is abundant in hepatocytes, in contrast to most other cell types. [3]
Cytology is the name given to the branch of biology that deals with the formation, structure and functionality of the cells. [1] Liver cytology specializes in the study of liver cells. The main liver cells are called hepatocytes ; however, there are other cells that can be observed in a liver sample such as Kupffer cells (macrophages). [ 2 ]
In histology (microscopic anatomy), the lobules of liver, or hepatic lobules, are small divisions of the liver defined at the microscopic scale. The hepatic lobule is a building block of the liver tissue, consisting of portal triads, hepatocytes arranged in linear cords between a capillary network, and a central vein.
A liver sinusoid is a type of capillary known as a sinusoidal capillary, discontinuous capillary or sinusoid, that is similar to a fenestrated capillary, having discontinuous endothelium that serves as a location for mixing of the oxygen-rich blood from the hepatic artery and the nutrient-rich blood from the portal vein.
The perisinusoidal space (or space of Disse) is a space between a hepatocyte, and a sinusoid in the liver.It contains the blood plasma. Microvilli of hepatocytes extend into this space, allowing proteins and other plasma components from the sinusoids to be absorbed by the hepatocytes.
The LSECs contain 45% and 17% of the liver's total mass of pinocytic vesicles and lysosomes, and contain twice as many clathrin-coated pits per membrane unit, compared with two other major liver cells, Kupffer cells and hepatocytes, [5] reflecting the high capacity clathrin-mediated endocytic activity of LSECs.
It is because of this that any change to Kupffer cell functions can be connected to various liver diseases such as alcoholic liver disease, viral hepatitis, intrahepatic cholestasis, steatohepatitis, activation or rejection of the liver during liver transplantation and liver fibrosis. [2] [3] They form part of the mononuclear phagocyte system.
The function and role of quiescent hepatic stellate cells is unclear. Recent evidence suggests a role as a liver-resident antigen-presenting cell, presenting lipid antigens to and stimulating proliferation of NKT cells. [7] When the liver is damaged, stellate cells can change into an activated state.