Studies on Cirrhosis of the Liver VIII Angiograms and Casts of Autopsied Livers

• Published in: The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine Vol. 69; no. 2-3; pp. 283 - 294
• Main Authors: Sato, Tadashi, Nakamura, Takashi, Tokita, Katsuhiko, Suzuki, Toshimi, Watanabe, Masamitsu, Kimura, Toru, Nakamura, Shozo, Kaneko, Taketsugu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tohoku University Medical Press 1959
• ISSN: 0040-8727; 1349-3329
• DOI: 10.1620/tjem.69.283

For obtaining data endorsing what we have reported previously on the results of hepatic venography in clinical cases, we employed venography and vascular casting on livers in autopsied cases of normal and diseased livers. The results were well reconcilable with those of the previous study, as summarized in the following: 1. In the severely cirrhotic livers, the changes were most prominent in the hepatic veins, which showed the distorted appearance of dead trees. In mild cirrhosis, almost no vascular change was observed. In cancerous livers, the veins were found displaced and circuitous, their branches being reduced in number. In a severe case, a vascular cyst was found in formation. 2. The portal vein was found less affected than the hepatic veins in cirrhotic livers, but some of its branches were found running spirally. 3. The hepatic arterial branches were augmented in the cirrhotic cases with ascites, and also in the cancerous livers but not penetrating deep into the foci. 4. Anastomoses between the hepatic veins were observed in most of the normal livers but not in the severely cirrhotic livers. In a case of cancerous liver, we found pathological mesh-like anastomoses. 5. In the severely cirrhotic livers, anastomoses between the hepatic and portal veins were found to exist. In a cancerous liver, the necrotic tissue had formed a vascular cyst and the hepatic and the portal veins were found anastomosed within it.