Morphological changes of the liver in obstructive jaundice and its reversibility

with special reference to morphometric analysis of ultrastructure of the liver in dogs

Abstract

The Purpose of this study was to evaluate the reversibility of the liver with obstructive jaundice on the ultrastructural changes of the liver.
In obstructive jaundice, caused by ligation of the common bile duct with cholecystectomy in dogs, membrane surface of cristae per mitochondrion and surface density of endoplasmic reticulum were decreased, while volume density of lysosome was remarkably increased, and bile canaliculi were dilated accompanying loss of microvilli especially in the centrilobular area.
When biliary decompression was performed within the first two weeks, the morphological changes of the liver showed good recovery, but poor thereafter. Changes of mitochondrial cristae were the most important indicator in evaluating reversibility of the liver.
On the other hand, Kupffer's cells were remarkably enlarged with phagocytosis of bile pigment and occupied the sinusoidal space, not only following biliary obstruction, but also after biliary decompression. This condition could cause a circulatory disturbance in the sinusoid, and it might lead to a delayed recovery of the liver following biliary decompression.