title: [Biliary atresia: pathogenetic considerations emerging from the histopathologic analysis of the liver parenchyma].
abstract: Nine patients had been surgically treated for extrahepatic biliary atresia from 1974 to 1982. The analysis of the hepatic specimens obtained during the surgical exploration revealed a wide spectrum of histopathologic lesions. In 3 patients we found severe Giant-cell transformation, while in the other 6 it was not possible to ascribe the histopathologic picture to a univocal pathogenesis. Comparing our results to the reports of other Authors we believe biliary atresia can not be explained by a single pathologic mechanism. The obstruction of the extrahepatic bile ducts might be the common morphologic denominator of different pathologic entities, from each of them it depends a different evolution of the hepatic lesions and a different survival after Kasai's operation.
mesh_terms: D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male
vernacular_title: L'atresia biliare: considerazioni patogenetiche emergenti dall'analisi istopatologica del parenchima epatico.