LIVER EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PECULIARITIES IN MAMMALS AND AVIANS

Analysis of liver matrix studies makes it obvious that knowledge about the connective tissue skeleton of the liver is not systematized, the terminology is contradictory, and the question of the construction of some components sometimes causes controversy. We set a goal to study the features of the construction of the connective tissue matrix of the liver of various mammals and birds in order to identify and systematize general and specific patterns of this structure. The liver of mammals with a gallbladder (pigs, sheep) and without a gallbladder (rats) and birds (domestic chickens with a gallbladder) was studied by the methods of anatomical preparation, histology, histochemistry, histotopography, immunohistochemistry, scanning electron microscopy of corrosion replicas and fluorescence microscopy. In the liver of mammals and birds, connective tissue membranes of various thicknesses and compositions around the portal tracts and hepatic veins are revealed. These membranes are connected in various ways with each other, the liver capsule and the intralobular network of connective tissue and form an extracellular matrix, which strengthens the structure of the liver tissue and helps the organ maintain its integrity in various pathological conditions.