[Histopathology of the liver in shock]

Microscopic lesions in shock liver, examined in biopsy specimens from 20 patients, are characterised by elective involvement of the hepatic parenchyma inthe peripheral zones of the acini, with necrosis and cell loss in approximately half the cases. The particular appearance of the degenerative lesions of the hepatocytes ("ischaemic atrophy" and tumefaction, monocellular necrosis), the absence of any change in the reticulin fibres, the minimal leucocytic reaction and the absence of any damage to the portal spaces should make it possible to identify histologically the ischaemic aetiology of peri-acinar hepatic lesions.