EM 384 Bile Canaliculi

Bile Canaliculi

Freeze fracture of the liver that fractured along the boundaries of hepatocytes showing bile canaliculi.

Bile canaliculi are networks of tiny channels that collect bile secreted by hepatocytes and transport it to larger bile ducts.

• Hepatocytes (tan) - lateral surfaces of adjacent hepatocytes contribute to forming the walls of the canaliculi.
  • Microvilli cover the surface facing the space of Disse
• Bile Canaliculi (green) -network of narrow channels that merge into larger bile ducts
• Sinusoidal Capillary (red) - broader and more irregular compared to typical capillaries, with large gaps and a discontinuous basal lamina
  • Allows free passage of blood plasma and cells
• Space of Disse - thin gap between sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatocytes
  • Reticular fibers (yellow) - maintain the structural integrity of the plates of hepatocytes
  • Filled with blood plasma, nutrients, oxygen, and various cells (Kupffer cells, hepatic stellate cells, and stem cells)

Courtesy of Tsuneo Fujita and Masaki Muto, Niigata University, Medical School, Niigata, Japan.