THE STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF A HEPATOCYTE
This essay is about the Hepatocyte. This is a highly specialised cell in the liver and makes up around 70% of the cytoplasmic mass of the liver tissue. It is an epithelial cell with many different roles that each are essential too life. These roles are protein synthesis and storage, detoxification and excretion of exogenous and endogenous substances, synthesis of cholesterol, bile salts and phospholipids. The Hepatocyte also plays a vital role by starting the creation and secretion of bile. In this essay I will explain the activities I have just listed but 1st I will describe its structure.
Hepatocytes vary in shape but usually 2 or 3 aspects will face the blood vessels in the liver. These liver blood vessels are called the sinusoids and the sinusoidal lining stops all erythrocytes damaging the delicate microvillus on the hepatocyte. Near the sinusoid Hepatocyes part slightly from each other too create a small space which collects all the extra cellular fluid. All the rest of the cell is in contact with other hepatocytes. This contact point is smooth generally but there is a system of tubes called bile canaliculi that runs along channels between other hepatocytes. These bile canaliculi are covered in microvillus and drain into the bile duct. In the Hepatocyte There is much higher amounts of mitochondria, lysosomes, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticular.
The liver is vital for detoxifying the body and maintaining homeostasis. This job is done by the hepatocytes. Blood travels from the intestines through the liver via the hepatic portal vein carrying all manner of exogenous substances like drugs and insecticides endogenous substances involving steroids. Ammonia can also be a huge problem. These must be metabolized or made inactive. This is done by one or a mixture of the following processes: oxidation, reduction and methylation.
The Hepatocyte is vital for metabolizing lipids, carbohydrates and...