Evaluation of the hepatic structure in normal dogs and dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts

Abstract

This study included five dogs with a congenital portosystemic shunt (CPSS), which had surgical attenuation of the shunt. Liver biopsies were taken for Electron Microscopy (EM) evaluation. The evaluation was focussed on the vasculature within the liver. The aspects of the liver samples were described with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Light Microscopy (LM). The results were compared with liver biopsies of three dogs with normal liver function. In the liver of dogs with a shunt, the endothelial lining of the sinusoids was less porous, more extracellular matrix (ECM) was present, there was steatosis in the hepatocytes and the sinusoids were shorter, in comparison to the normal dog liver. To gain more understanding in why for some dogs surgical attenuation of the shunt leads to development of the liver vasculature and for others not, hepatic tissue should also be studied after the surgery, using the same techniques. Comparing these tissues will give information about differences in liver vasculature before and after surgery.