Experimental and clinical studies on liver tissue blood flow in obstructive jaundice

: To clarify some pathologic aspects of obstructive jaundice before and after bile duct drainage, changes in liver tissue blood flow were observed using an electrolytic historheometer, in combination with the FITC-dextran method, during experimental bile duct obstruction and after its elimination. Clinical investigations were based on histologic findings in liver tissue specimens collected by wedge biopsy at the time of laparotomy following bile duct drainage. Rats with bile duct obstruction showed significantly (P less than 0.01) lower values for liver tissue blood flow, with sinusoid dilation, in comparison to control rats, at 2 and 4 weeks following the initiation of experimental bile duct obstruction. Liver tissue blood flow disturbance subsided 3 days after eliminating the obstruction, at 2 weeks following its initiation, while no improvement occurred even following elimination of obstruction after 4 weeks. Clinically, in cases with a high degree of sinusoid dilation the effect of postoperative bile duct drainage was poor, with a high incidence of postoperative complication. These findings suggest that liver tissue blood flow disturbance might causatively affect the pre- and postoperative course of obstructive jaundice.