The typical<unk>  is cubical with sides of 20-30 μm, (in comparison, a human hair has a diameter of 17 to 180 μm). The typical volume of a<unk>  is 3.4 x 10−9 cm3. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is abundant in<unk> s, whereas most cells in the body have only small amounts. Microanatomy<unk> s display an eosinophilic cytoplasm, reflecting numerous mitochondria, and basophilic stippling due to large amounts of smooth endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes. Brown lipofuscin granules are also observed (with increasing age) together with irregular unstained areas of cytoplasm; these correspond to cytoplasmic glycogen and lipid stores removed during histological preparation. The average life span of the<unk>  is 5 months; they are able to regenerate.<unk>  nuclei are round with dispersed chromatin and prominent nucleoli. Anisokaryosis (or variation in the size of the nuclei) is common and often reflects tetraploidy and other degrees of polyploidy, a normal feature of 30-40% of<unk> s in the adult human liver. Binucleate cells are also common.<unk> s are organised into plates separated by vascular channels (sinusoids), an arrangement supported by a reticulin (collagen type III) network. The<unk>  plates are one cell thick in mammals and two cells thick in the chicken. Sinusoids display a discontinuous, fenestrated endothelial cell lining. The endothelial cells have no basement membrane and are separated from the<unk> s by the space of Disse, which drains lymph into the portal tract lymphatics. Kupffer cells are scattered between endothelial cells; they are part of the reticuloendothelial system and phagocytose spent erythrocytes. Stellate (Ito) cells store vitamin A and produce extracellular matrix and collagen; they are also distributed amongst endothelial cells but are difficult to visualise by light microscopy.
Hepatocyte
Nurse cell
Brain cell
Koilocyte
Macroovalocyte
Podocyte
Plasma cell
Corneocyte