This image is a higher magnification of a liver section.
The most common cells of the liver are epithelial tissue cells called hepatocytes. Several blue or purple circles can be seen. They are the nuclei of hepatocytes.
The nuclei are placed inside the cytoplasm of the cells. The stains the were applied to this histological section are called Hematoxylin and eosin . After this staining, the nuclei appear blue-purple and the cytoplasm pink. This is the most commonly stain combination used to observe histological sections. In the final part of this chapter you can find more information on staining of histological sections.
Observe that below the image there is a warning represented by the figure of a hand holding a mouse. This means that there here is a special effect caused by the position of the mouse cursor.
By placing the mouse cursor over the image or clicking on the image it will become easier to distinguish the nuclei and the cytoplasm.
Liver. Hematoxylin and eosin. Medium magnification.
Desktops and notebooks: Place the cursor over the figure to access another image.
Touchscreens: Click on the figure to access another image. Click outside of the figure to return to the first image.
Note that hepatocytes are organized as columns or cords. In sections, these cords appear as cells aligned one after another, but the cells are actually organized as three-dimensional plates of hepatocytes. Later on in this chapter you will realize that thin sections of three-dimensional structures need to be properly interpreted, in order to understand the true organization of cells that form the tissues and organs.
Blood passes trouch the spaces between the plates of hepatocyte
To find out the sizes of the structures in the imagen, use the bar placed at the lower right corner of the figure, which measures measures 20 μm.