veins, the largest of which leave the liver to enter the inferior vena cava. The central veins are thin-walled structures
with little, if any, smooth muscle in the walls and are surrounded by connective tissue more typical of venules than
veins. The location of the portal tract (B) is included for a reference position.
The central vein, adjacent hepatocytes, and sinusoids are illustrated at higher magnification in Figure 15-7a. The
thin wall and the endothelial cell lining (arrowhead) are characteristic of venules. The central vein occupies the cen-
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ter of the classic hepatic lobule, but it has a peripheral location in the acinus concept.
by
[Rutgers
University
Figure 15­8
130.219.8.11]
at
[04/08/15].
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McGraw-Hill
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Holdings,
LLC.
Not
to
be
redistributed
or
modified
The portal tract is located at the center of the field. You should be able to identify three of the elements of the portal
in
tract in this specimen.
any
way
Extending from the portal tract are plates of hepatocytes, on either side of which are the large-caliber, fenestrated
capillaries (arrowheads) constituting the sinusoids of the liver. The hepatocytes have three morphologically distinct
without
surfaces. The basal surface of the cells borders the sinusoids. The apical surfaces form bile canaliculi, and the lateral
surfaces form junctions with other hepatocytes.
permission.
865

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