Hepatic structural correlates of liver fibrosis: a morphometric analysis

Liver fibrosis is an important feature of many liver diseases, and the assessment of fibrosis is essential for diagnosis and prognosis. Liver needle biopsy, however, tends to sample preferentially the soft parenchyma, which poorly reflects the true extent of fibrosis. Therefore, we have searched for capsule and parenchymal features that are correlated with the fibrosis. To test for these correlations, we used a morphometric analysis of a rat model of liver fibrosis. We demonstrated that, of the variables examined, capsule thickness was the best correlate of liver fibrosis. Our results also showed that there were parenchymal structures that underwent changes that were well-correlated with the development of fibrosis in the liver. These changes were identified as increases in hepatocyte nucleus, cytoplasm, and mitochondria. These facts suggest that, at least in a rat model of fibrosis, capsule thickness is a useful parameter by which to assess liver fibrosis and that specific and apparently adaptive parenchymal changes are well-correlated to fibrosis.