Preparation of isolated rat liver hepatocytes.

The bulk volume (about 85%) of the mammalian liver parenchyma is contributed by the hepatocytes, whereas at least four other types of cells constitute the remainder (1). Procedures for the isolation of all five cell types have been described, although not from the same liver. However, the isolation of hepatocytes has clearly been the most widely used preparation and has proved extremely valuable for a wide variety of experiments, spanning fields like pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, and metabolic functions of the liver.