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intrahepatic biliary ducts
Wednesday 25 June 2003
Between abutting hepatocytes are bile canaliculi, which are channels 1 to 2 μm in diameter, formed by grooves in the plasma membranes of the facing cells and delineated from the vascular space by tight junctions. Numerous microvilli extend into these intercellular spaces, which constitute the outermost reaches of the biliary tree. Hepatocellular actin and myosin microfilaments surrounding the canaliculus help propel secreted biliary fluid along the canaliculi.
These channels drain into the canals of Hering in the periportal region. These canals are troughlike extensions of biliary epithelium into the periportal parenchyma, abutting with hepatocytes to form efficient channels for draining bile.
Biliary fluid is conveyed through their lumina to bile ductules, which traverse the portal mesenchyme to empty into the interlobular bile ducts in the portal tracts.
Anomalies
congenital diseases of intrahepatic bile ducts
- ductal plate malformation
