Bile canaliculus (plural:bile canaliculi; also called bile capillaries) is a thin tube that collects

bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is produced continuously by the liver (liver bile ...

secreted by

hepatocytes A hepatocyte is a cell of the main parenchymal tissue of the liver. Hepatocytes make up 80% of the liver's mass. These cells are involved in: * Protein synthesis * Protein storage * Transformation of carbohydrates * Synthesis of cholesterol, ...

. The bile canaliculi empty into a series of progressively larger bile ductules and ducts, which eventually become

common hepatic duct The common hepatic duct is the first part of the biliary tract. It joins the cystic duct coming from the gallbladder to form the common bile duct. Structure The common hepatic duct is the first part of the biliary tract. It is formed by the c ...

. The bile canaliculi empty directly into the Canals of Hering. Hepatocytes are

polyhedra In geometry, a polyhedron (plural polyhedra or polyhedrons; ) is a three-dimensional shape with flat polygonal faces, straight edges and sharp corners or vertices. A convex polyhedron is the convex hull of finitely many points, not all on t ...

l in shape, therefore having no set shape or design, although they are made of cuboidal epithelial cells. They have surfaces facing the

sinusoids A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the body: ...

, (called sinusoidal faces) and surfaces which contact other hepatocytes, (called lateral faces). Bile canaliculi are formed by grooves on some of the lateral faces of these

. Microvilli are present in the canaliculi.

External links

* * * Hepatology {{digestive-stub