Haemodynamic alterations and their morphological basis in biliary obstruction.

The relationship between the haemodynamic alterations and morphological changes in the liver caused by biliary obstruction was investigated in rats after ligation of the common bile duct. In these rats, the portal vein pressure was markedly elevated, and the differences in blood pressure between the portal vein and the terminal portal venule and between the terminal portal venule and the terminal hepatic venule were greater than in the sham-operated rat. The livers showed narrowing of the most peripheral branches of the portal vein due to compression by proliferated bile ductules and sinusoidal stenosis due to enlarged liver cells, but there was no perceptible change in the hepatic vein branches. These data suggest that hepatic circulatory disturbance in biliary obstruction is caused by deformation of the peripheral portal vein branches and sinusoidal stenosis.