Ultrastructure of the liver after 24-hour preservation with various solutions.

The effect of 24-hour preservation with 5% dextrane solution, Collins C3 solution and 5% human albumin solution, as well as of pretreatment with phenoxybenzamine on the ultrastructure of the rat liver has been studied. It was found that 1. the moment of the irreversible damage of the liver cannot be assessed from the electron microscopic picture; 2. though the ultrastructure offers no clue to the exact length of the effectiveness of a preservation procedure, the different methods can be compared among each other; 3. of the investigated solutions the 5% solution of human albumin appeared to be the most favourable, as with this solution the ultrastructural changes appeared late and in the least pronounced form; 4. phenoxybenzamine pretreatment might be of importance in warm ischaemia as it seems to delay the consequences.