Quantitative histomorphology of liver growth in sheep at prenatal and postnatal stages

This study was carried to determine quantitative histomorphologically on the development of the liver of sheep in prenatal and postnatal stages, and to prove the relationship between functional and structural differentiation of liver. There were more blood cells than hepatocytes, and haemotopoieisis was the primary function of the liver in the first half of gestation. As observed in the fetal stages bile ducts and Kiernan areas are formed from the 12th week. The distance between the two adjacent central veins was 401.2 = 20.8 micron in the fetuses and 629.77 -/+ 34.7 micron in the lambs, while rising in the adult to 740 + 14.35 micron. This increase was directly proportional to age. The average diameter of sheep hepatocyte and nuclei, and the ratio between the diameters of nuclei and their hepatic cells were compared according to the prenatal and postnatal stages, and the difference between these stages was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). This difference was sourced from adult sheep. The number of hepatocytes per unit area were 107.48 -/+ 6.63, 133.6 -/+ 7.01, 100.84 -/+ 6.63 in the fetus, lamb and adult liver of sheep, respectively, and the differentia that earned statistical importance was sourced from the young stages. The number of ductus biliferi was 2.75 -/+ 0.47 in the fetuses, however, this had risen to 5.8 -/+ 0.6 and 6.8 -/+ 0.37 respectively in the lambs and adult sheep. The portal lobule areas rose according to the age and were 0.17796 -/+ 0.00086 mm2 and 2.022650 -/+ 0.0097 mm2 respectively in the lambs and adult sheep and the differentia between young and adult sheep was statistically important (P < 0.05).