Perisinusoidal cells in patients with normal liver histology. A morphometric study.

We measured the number and the morphometric characteristics of perisinusoidal cells in perfusion-fixed biopsy samples from 7 control patients with normal liver histology. On 1-micron section, the number of cells was 18 +/- 1.5/0.1 mm2; 25% of cells did not apparently contain lipids. There were no significant zonal differences. The volume density of the cells represented 1 +/- 0.2% of the hepatic parenchyma. On ultrathin sections, the volume and surface densities of processes were 3.2 +/- 0.7% of sinusoid and 0.21 +/- 0.04 m2/cm3 of sinusoid respectively which represented 70% and 90% of total PSC volume and surface densities. Lipid volume density was 20.5 +/- 7.3% of the nucleated cell. More than 30% of cells contained less than 10% of lipids. There was no correlation between lipid volume density and RER surface density.