A Stereological Study of Intrahepatic Bile Ducts

An anatomical investigation of “bile duct proliferation” has been undertaken in order to contribute to our understanding of its pathogenesis. Stereology has not revealed any differences in anatomy which could be correlated to aetiology. The geometrical shape of the ductules was found to be a flattened cylinder. This explains the impression that they are sectioned more longitudinally in histological slides than normal ducts. A three‐dimensional reconstruction from one of the cases confirmed this result and illustrated the arrangement of the ducts. These formed an irregular, three‐dimensional network with many connections to the parenchyma. It is concluded that this anatomy differs so markedly from that of normal bile ducts that it is improbable that the latter are the source of origin. In contrast, the anatomy is quite similar to that of the hepatic muralium, which is proposed as the origin of proliferating ductules.