[The morphometric changes of chronic ischemia in the hepatocyte. An experimental study in the rat]

The effects of chronic ischemia on the rat hepatocyte are morphometrically analyzed in the present study. Rats Wistar-Lewis are used. Rats underwent a stenosis of the celiac artery by using a metallic guide. The interval between the experimentation until the sacrifice was 15, 30, 90, 180, and 360 days. We have performed a morphometric study using a semiautomated image analyzer system (VIDS III, Analytical Measuring Systems). Morphological disturbances in the chronic ischemia periods above mentioned can be measured: an increase in the hepatocyte area starting from 90 days of experimentation and also an increase in the hepatocyte perimeter starting from 30 days of ischemia. On the other hand, both the nuclear area and the nuclear perimeter are increased in every period studied. The number of hepatocytes per microscopic field doesn't show any change in relation to ischemia time. Cellular swelling suggests some degree of cellular hypoxia in contradiction with other observations.