[Liver alterations in newborn rabbits after maternal thrombin shock (author's transl)]

Intrauterine asphyxia has been induced in immature and mature newborn rabbits by means of experimental shock of the pregnant doe. Typical changes of clotting parameters and morphological alterations in different organs specific for shock were used as criteria of the maternal shock. For the detection of asphyxia conditioned neonatal organ lesions, liver, lung, kidney and heart muscle were studied light microscopically. Special attention was devoted to liver alterations, i.e. changes of hepatocyte structure, glycogen content and microcirculation disturbances as well as to alterations of the hematopoietic system. The asphyxia related effects were vacuolic degeneration of hepatocytes, centroacinar hyperemia and persistence of hematopoietic cells in the neonatal liver. The alterations of the hepatocytes as well as of the hematopoietic system were more conspicuous in mature then in immature asphyxiated rabbits. On the contrary, the microcirculatory changes are similar in both animal groups.