[Morphometric studies of blood vessels in human livers with hepatocellular neoplasms, with special reference to "tumor-related arteriopathies" of pre-existing host arteries].
Autopsy or surgical liver materials from 36 patients with hepatocellular carcinomas or adenomas were submitted to histometric treatment of the hepatic arteries supplying these tumors. Not only the medial smooth muscles were extremely hypoplastic in the arterioles contained in the tumors, but also the media of tumor-supplying extraneoplastic host arteries were significantly thinner than in the control, even in branches distant from the tumor, suggesting more or less lowered activities of blood flow regulation. Under these circumstances, dissecting injuries of host arterioles were frequently found to develop. Computer-aided 3-D reconstruction visualized constant spatial transition from such "tumor-related arteriopathies" to media-free intraneoplastic arterioles, showing their forerunning character preceding the development of typical "tumor vessels".
D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000473:pathology; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology