Kupffer cells are a critical component of the mononuclear phagocytic system and are central to both the hepatic and systemic response to pathogens.
Kupffer cells are reemerging as critical mediators of both liver injury and repair..
Normal liver
The hepatocytes are present as single cells, or monolayered small cell groups and sheets.
The cells are round, polygonal, have well defined cell borders, and granular dense cytoplasm.
Hepatocytes frequently contain cytoplasmic pigments (lipofuscin, hemosiderin, bile pigment, copper)..
However, it is known that cats with hepatic mast cell neoplasia can have an ultrasonographically normal liver and it follows that an apparently normal liver on ultrasound does not exclude the possibility of mast cell infiltration in the cat
18 Decreased hepatic echogenicity
Description and interpretation of normal cytology, common respiratory cytologic artifacts, cytopathologic cellular responses to injury, and inflammatory and neoplastic cytopathologic disorders in the respiratory tracts of dogs and cats are emphasized
Cytopathologic examination of the liver is a rewarding first-line diagnostic tool, particularly for the workup of diffuse hepatopathies and certain types of tumors
This chapter discusses normal liver and bile cytology as well as a range of hepatopathies and gallbladder conditions in which fine-needle aspiration biopsy can prove useful
