Abstract
The author has studied histochemically the alteration cf acid and alkaline phosphatases, glucose-6-phosphatase and phosphorylase of the liver of rats from late fetal life to adult and added the histochemical research of glycogen.
1. The activity of alkaline phosphatase in the bile capillaries was negative in the late fetal life, and attained maximal intensity at 1-3 days after birth. Subsequently it showed the gradual decrease from the central part of the lobules and loss of activity by 3 weeks.
2. The activity of acid phosphatase was slight in the late fetal life, followed by gradual increase to attain the normal level at 3 weeks. Up to 3 weeks of age, the activity was usually more intensive in KUPFFER's cell than in the hepatic cells.
3. The activity of glucose-6-phosphatase was moderate in the hepatic cells in the late fetal life, and it increased gradually to attain maximal intensity at 1 month. The enzymatic activity was absent in the nuclei of the hepatic cells and was concentrated around the nuclear membrane within the cytoplasm. It was present more evidently in the peripheral area of the hepatic lobules than the central zone.
4. The activity of phosphorylase could not be demonstrated in all sections of rat's liver except a few cases.
