Maksakudos

Maksakudos, or hepatic tissue, is the tissue that makes up the liver. It is a highly vascularized organ responsible for metabolism, detoxification, bile production, and storage. In humans, the liver contains a large proportion of the body's immune and metabolic activity.

Histologically, maksakudos is organized into hepatic lobules, roughly hexagonal units radiating from a central vein. Hepatocytes form plates that are typically one cell thick and surround the sinusoids. At each corner of a lobule lies a portal triad, consisting of a hepatic artery proper, a portal vein, and a bile duct. Bile canaliculi run between hepatocytes and drain into the bile ducts of the portal triad. The sinusoids are fenestrated capillaries that enable exchange between blood and hepatocytes, with specialized non-parenchymal cells such as Kupffer cells (resident macrophages) and hepatic stellate cells (Ito cells) present in the tissue.

The liver receives blood via a dual supply: oxygen-rich blood from the hepatic artery and nutrient-rich blood from the portal vein. Blood percolates through sinusoids, mixing before draining into the central veins, then hepatic veins, and finally into the systemic circulation. Bile produced by hepatocytes is secreted into canaliculi and transported to the bile ducts for excretion.

Functions of maksakudos include glucose and lipid metabolism, protein synthesis (including albumin and clotting factors), detoxification and drug metabolism, bile production, vitamin and mineral storage, and coordinated immune responses through resident macrophages.

Clinical relevance: damage to maksakudos from infection, toxins, or chronic disease can lead to fibrosis and cirrhosis; hepatic steatosis and other disorders reflect disruptions in its architecture and function. The liver’s regenerative capacity supports recovery after injury.