Liver Lobules

About the Liver Lobules

The hepatic lobule is the functional unit of the liver. The classic lobule is hexagonal with a central vein and portal triads at each corner containing branches of portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct. Hepatocytes are arranged in plates radiating from the central vein, with sinusoids between them carrying mixed blood. Hepatic sinusoids are fenestrated allowing plasma to reach hepatocytes while blood cells remain in the lumen. Kupffer cells resident macrophages line the sinusoids, removing aged blood cells and bacteria. The space of Disse between sinusoids and hepatocytes contains Ito stellate cells storing vitamin A, which become myofibroblasts in cirrhosis. Bile flows in the opposite direction to blood, from hepatocytes through bile canaliculi to bile ducts in the portal triad.