Figure 3.

Different types of branching patterns in the intrahepatic biliary tree (A), hepatic artery (B), and portal vein (C) in normal (top) and ANIT-fed (bottom) rats. The biliary tree (A) exhibited only one type of branching in which bile duct divides into two branches (bifurcation). This type of branching had also been frequently seen in the hepatic artery and the portal vein. A less frequent type of branching occurs in the hepatic artery (B) and portal vein (C) in which the segment gives rise to three branches, ie, trifurcation. Trifurcations were never seen in the intrahepatic biliary system. ANIT feeding had no effect on number of trifurcations in hepatic artery and portal vein. Scale bar, 0.3 mm.