What does the liver ACINUS do, how does it allow the liver to function?

Question

I've looked all over for the answer to this and have only been able to find short dictinary-like sentences. I need more than this... what is it, what does it do, how does it help the liver to perform its functions?

I'm not asking for the answer on a plate, or for someone else to do my work, I just need a bit of help... even a shove in the right direction. Maybe you know of a website that will help me that I might have missed? or maybe you're just well up on the liver.. either way ANY help is really appreciated!

Thanks :)

Answer 1

An acinar cell is one of the cells that make up an exocrine gland.  Just think of what exocrine function the liver has and there you have your answer.  In other words what does the liver excrete?

try this site: http://download.videohelp.com/vitualis/m...

Answer 2

An acinus (derived from the Latin for grape) describes an arrangement of cells and ducts in an exocrine (secretory) organ such as the liver, pancreas, prostate and lung. It usually implies a berry-like collection of cells lying alongside branching ducts all leading ultimately to a main duct (such as the pancreatic duct or bile duct). This resembles a bunch of grapes (each acinus being a grape, and the stalks and branches being the ducts) hence the name. In the case of the liver however the structure of an acinus is more conceptual, and less like a bunch of grapes. The cells are laid out in plates, with ducts and blood vessels adjacent to them.

There  are many functions of the liver, but most involve the processing of portal venous blood from the gut (containing nutrients, fats, toxins and bacteria), separating out the 'good stuff' (proteins, sugars, fats) from the bad stuff (poisons, waste products (eg bilirubin) bacterial debris, cellular debris). In order to do this most efficiently the cells and ducts have to be arranged in a way that exposes the cells to blood (from which to extract the debris), and also to a duct (in which to excrete it). The arrangement that best satisfies this need is the acinar layout which means that every cell is served by a blood vessel and a duct. Blood from the portal vein enters the liver acinus and is quickly channeled into small channels called sinusoids. This exposes the blood to hepatocyte surfaces which secrete proteins, and toxins osmose into the hepatocyte to be actively excreted into the bile duct canaliculus. In addition macrophages bind and destroy bacteria and cell remnants.

As the blood approaches the hepatic venule the fat content is reduced, and debris is removed by macrophages in the system.

Please have a look at the site below which explains it pretty well.

it is the hepatocyte that does all the chemical processing, but the acinar arrangement means it has a good blood supply and a means of excretion.

This is the sort of explanation that is much better done with pictures than words,