Heath D, Smith P
Department of Pathology, University of Liverpool, UK.
Histopathology. 1994 Aug;25(2):159-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.1994.tb01572.x.
The carotid bodies were dissected out at necropsy and weighed in seven subjects with cirrhosis of the liver and in seven control subjects of comparable age free of liver disease. The mean combined carotid body weight of the control group was 17 mg but in the cirrhotic patients it was 35 mg, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.005). Differential counts of the various types of glomic cell (progenitor, dark and light variants of chief cells and sustentacular cells) were carried out. The enlargement of the carotid bodies in the subjects with cirrhosis was associated with increased numbers of the dark variant of chief cell. The mean number of dark cells per unit area in the control group was 361 cells/mm2 but in the cirrhosis group it was 1024 cells/mm2, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.005). It is postulated that the prominence of dark cells may be associated with secretion of a natriuretic peptide in response to the hyperaldosteronism and sodium retention of cirrhosis of the liver. Alternatively, it may be a response to hypoxaemia resulting from porta-pulmonary shunts.
在尸检时取出七名肝硬化患者和七名年龄相仿的无肝脏疾病对照者的颈动脉体并称重。对照组颈动脉体的平均总重量为17毫克，而肝硬化患者的为35毫克，差异有统计学意义（P < 0.005）。对各种类型的球细胞（祖细胞、主细胞的暗、亮变体和支持细胞）进行了分类计数。肝硬化患者的颈动脉体增大与主细胞暗变体数量增加有关。对照组每单位面积暗细胞的平均数量为361个/mm²，而肝硬化组为1024个/mm²，差异有统计学意义（P < 0.005）。据推测，暗细胞增多可能与肝硬化患者醛固酮增多症和钠潴留时利钠肽的分泌有关。或者，这可能是对门-肺分流导致的低氧血症的一种反应。
