A Mathematical Model of Blood Circulation in the Liver Lobule

The liver has a specialized circulation. It is supplied by two main vessels: the hepatic portal vein, carrying nutrient-rich deoxygenated blood, and the hepatic artery, carrying oxygenated blood. The hepatic portal vein supplies up to 80% of the blood. Within the liver, both the portal vein and the hepatic artery undergo a series of successive bifurcations, which end at the portal tracts. Each portal tract contains three vessels: a portal vein, an artery and a bile duct. Blood drains out from the portal tracts into the sinusoidal space and from there into the central veins. The central veins, after a series of converging bifurcations, end at the hepatic veins, which carry blood out of the liver. The sinusoidal space consists of a network of tortuous, interconnected channels called sinusoids. One of the most common and widely accepted descriptions of the primitive units of the liver is the “classic lobule”. A diagram of an idealized arrangement of liver lobules is shown in Figure 1. Each lobule has the shape of a hexagonal prism with a portal tract running along each of the parallel edges and a central vein on the central axis. The remainder of the space is made up of sinusoids.

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Blood flow, vascular resistance, and blood volume after hemorrhage in conscious adrenalectomized rat

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/jappl.1997.83.5.1648 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 83 (5) ◽

pp. 1648-1653 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Daniel N. Darlington ◽

Majid J. Tehrani

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Portal Vein ◽

Hepatic Artery ◽

Blood Volume ◽

Vascular Resistance ◽

Cardiovascular Collapse ◽

Artery Blood Flow ◽

Hepatic Portal Vein ◽

Small Intestines ◽

Hepatic Portal

Darlington, Daniel N., and Majid J. Tehrani. Blood flow, vascular resistance, and blood volume after hemorrhage in conscious adrenalectomized rat. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(5): 1648–1653, 1997.—Hemorrhage leads to cardiovascular collapse and death in adrenal-insufficient animals. To determine whether the cardiovascular collapse is due to vasodilation and/or failure to restore blood volume, we used radiolabeled microspheres and 125I-labeled albumin to measure blood flow and blood volume in conscious adrenalectomized (ADX) rats after 15 ml ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ 3 min−1 hemorrhage. In ADX rats, hemorrhage led to a greater fall than in sham rats in blood flow in the stomach, small intestines, cecum, colon, spleen, hepatic portal vein, kidney, testis, lung, thymus, bone, fat, forebrain, cerebellum, and brainstem. The greater fall in blood flow was caused by an increase in vascular resistance in these organs except brain and hepatic artery. Sham rats maintained or increased brain and hepatic artery blood flow after hemorrhage whereas flow decreased and remained depressed in ADX rats. ADX rats failed to restore blood volume, whereas sham rats completely restored blood flow by 2 h. We conclude that cardiovascular collapse in ADX rats does not result from vasodilatation but may result from a failure to restore blood volume. The failure to restore blood volume and the low blood flow to organs, especially brain and liver, may contribute to mortality in ADX rats after hemorrhage.

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Hepatic Artery Doppler Indices in Children with Extra Hepatic Portal Vein Obstruction

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology ◽

10.1016/j.jceh.2013.04.002 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 102-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jesudoss Randhir ◽

Satyabhama Chandrasekaran ◽

Malathi Sathiyasekaran ◽

Jayanthi Venkataraman

Keyword(s):

Portal Vein ◽

Hepatic Artery ◽

Portal Vein Obstruction ◽

Hepatic Portal Vein ◽

Doppler Indices ◽

Hepatic Portal

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Hepatic Mastocytosis in Japanese Black Cattle

Veterinary Pathology ◽

10.1177/0300985817736115 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 55 (1) ◽

pp. 182-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Susumu Ohfuji

Keyword(s):

Mast Cells ◽

Portal Vein ◽

Japanese Black Cattle ◽

Vascular Lumen ◽

Atypical Features ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Hepatic Portal Vein ◽

Hepatic Portal ◽

Fibrotic Lesion ◽

Portal Tracts

In 5 Japanese Black steers (2-2.4 years old) that originated from 5 different feedlots, the livers were found at slaughter to have multiple nodular or cordlike lesions (5 steers) and an extensive fibrotic area (1 steer). Microscopic changes included extensive fibroplasia in the portal tracts and chronic proliferative endophlebitis-like lesions confined to the portal vein branches. Fibroplasia was much more prominent in the macroscopic fibrotic lesion of 1 steer. Portal vein branches presented irregular variciform dilation of the vascular lumen and fibroplastic changes in the subendothelial areas that showed occasional hemorrhage and were simultaneously infiltrated with large numbers of mast cells and moderate to large numbers of eosinophils. Within these subendothelial regions, not only did mast cells exhibit cytologically atypical features, but they also formed multifocal nodules. The venous lesions may represent a variant of mastocytosis with specific involvement of the hepatic portal vein branches in cattle.

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Effect of obstructive jaundice on hepatic hemodynamics: use of Sonazoid-enhanced ultrasonography in a prospective study of the blood flow balance between the hepatic portal vein and hepatic artery

Journal of Medical Ultrasonics ◽

10.1007/s10396-015-0629-1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 513-520 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Noritaka Wakui ◽

Yuki Takeda ◽

Shuta Nishinakagawa ◽

Nobuo Ueki ◽

Takafumi Otsuka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Obstructive Jaundice ◽

Portal Vein ◽

Prospective Study ◽

Hepatic Artery ◽

Flow Balance ◽

Hepatic Hemodynamics ◽

Hepatic Portal Vein ◽

Hepatic Portal ◽

A Prospective Study

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Vascular Involvements in Cholangiocarcinoma: Tips and Tricks

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13153735 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 3735

Author(s):

Roberta Angelico ◽

Bruno Sensi ◽

Alessandro Parente ◽

Leandro Siragusa ◽

Carlo Gazia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Portal Vein ◽

Hepatic Artery ◽

Vena Cava ◽

High Volume ◽

Vascular Reconstruction ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Vascular Involvement ◽

Hepatic Veins ◽

Hepatic Artery Resection ◽

Artery Resection

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive malignancy of the biliary tract. To date, surgical treatment remains the only hope for definitive cure of CCA patients. Involvement of major vascular structures was traditionally considered a contraindication for resection. Nowadays, selected cases of CCA with vascular involvement can be successfully approached. Intrahepatic CCA often involves the major hepatic veins or the inferior vena cava and might necessitate complete vascular exclusion, in situ hypothermic perfusion, ex situ surgery and reconstruction with autologous, heterologous or synthetic grafts. Hilar CCA more frequently involves the portal vein and hepatic artery. Resection and reconstruction of the portal vein is now considered a relatively safe and beneficial technique, and it is accepted as a standard option either with direct anastomosis or jump grafts. However, hepatic artery resection remains controversial; despite accumulating positive reports, the procedure remains technically challenging with increased rates of morbidity. When arterial reconstruction is not possible, arterio-portal shunting may offer salvage, while sometimes an efficient collateral system could bypass the need for arterial reconstructions. Keys to achieve success are represented by accurate selection of patients in high-volume referral centres, adequate technical skills and eclectic knowledge of the various possibilities for vascular reconstruction.

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