Ultrastructural and biochemical changes in the liver of monocrotaline intoxicated chickens

Ten weeks after a single, 20-mg oral dose of monocrotaline to chickens, their livers were small and irregular in outline and exhibited disruption of the hepatic lobules. There was also a reduction in liver nitrogen, RNA, and DNA content. Over 75% of the surviving hepatocytes were large clear cells that contained a sparse population of cytoplasmic organelles in an abundant free matrix and appeared to be functionally quiescent. A small population of metabolically active hepatocytes formed an irregular network throughout the liver parenchyma. Hepatic failure in these animals resulted from a decrease in parenchymal cell population and an alteration in functional capacity of a large percentage of the surviving hepatocytes.