Correlated morphometric and biochemical studies on the liver cell. I. Morphometric model, stereologic methods, and normal morphometric data for rat liver.

The basic morphological properties of liver cells are defined in the form of a morphometric model to permit integrated quantitative characterization of functionally important parameters. Stereologic methods which allow efficient and reliable quantitative evaluation of sectioned liver tissue are presented. Material, obtained by a rigorous three-stage sampling procedure from five normal rat livers, is systematically subjected to this analysis at four levels of magnification. This yields quantitative data which are expressed as "densities," i.e. content per 1 ml of tissue, as "specific dimensions" related to 100 g body weight, and as absolute dimensions per average "mononuclear" hepatocyte. Base line data relating to the normal rat liver are presented for the entire spectrum of parameters. As examples, 1 ml of liver tissue contains 169 x 10(6) hepatocyte nuclei, some 90 x 10(6) nuclei of other cells, and 280 x 10(9) mitochondria. Hepatocyte cytoplasm accounts for 77% of liver volume, and the mitochondria for 18%. The surface area of endoplasmic reticulum membranes in 1 ml of liver tissue measures 11 m(2) of which are (2/3) of the rough form carrying some 2 x 10(13) ribosomes. The surface area of mitochondrial cristae in the unit volume is estimated at 6 m(2). The validity and applicability of the method are discussed, and the data are compared with available information from other studies.