Structural changes of the diaphragmatic peritoneum in patients with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis: its relation to ascites.

The histopathologic changes of the peritoneum of the hemidiaphragm were studied in 30 patients with schistosomal liver disease and compared with ten control subjects. The diaphragmatic peritoneum of patients with ascites was markedly thickened with infiltration of inflammatory cells and collagen bundles resembling the interstitial changes of peripheral lymphedema. Obliteration of diaphragmatic lymphatic stomata with restricted lymph flow as well as excess lymph formation from portal hypertension are both major factors in the magnitude and intractability of ascites associated with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis.