The enhancement of ductal proliferation by deprivation of the portal blood supply in the rat liver.

By inducing hepatic parenchymal atrophy through deviation of the portal blood flow and, at the same time, bile-duct proliferation by common bile-duct obstruction, proliferating bile ducts were found to occupy almost the whole of the lobe affected by both these procedures. The lobe, therefore, appeared to be composed al most completely of bile-duct cells, with only very few surviving hepatic cell plates. Bile-duct proliferation was, therefore, increased when the tissue was deprived of portal blood. This preparation, consisting substantially of bile-duct epithelium, might be useful for assessing the biochemical and enzymic characteristics of these cells.