The canals of Hering, or intrahepatic bile ductules, are part of the outflow system of

exocrine Exocrine glands are glands that secrete substances on to an epithelial surface by way of a duct. Examples of exocrine glands include sweat, salivary, mammary, ceruminous, lacrimal, sebaceous, prostate and mucous. Exocrine glands are one of ...

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 b ...

product from the liver. Liver stem cells are located in the canals of Hering.

Structure

They are found between the

bile canaliculi 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 ...

and interlobular bile ducts near the outer edge of a classic liver lobule.

Histology

Histologically, the cells of the ductule are described as

simple cuboidal epithelium Simple cuboidal epithelium is a type of epithelium that consists of a single layer of cuboidal (cube-like) cells which have large, spherical and central nuclei. Simple cuboidal epithelium is found on the surface of ovaries, the lining of neph ...

, lined partially by cholangiocytes and

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, bi ...

. They may not be readily visible but can be differentially stained by cytokeratins CK19 and CK7.

Clinical relevance

The canals of Hering are destroyed early in primary biliary cholangitis and may be primary sites of scarring in methotrexate toxicity. Research has indicated the presence of intraorgan stem cells of the liver that can proliferate in disease states, so-called oval cells.

History

They are named for

Ewald Hering Karl Ewald Konstantin Hering (5 August 1834 – 26 January 1918) was a German physiologist who did much research into color vision, binocular perception and eye movements. He proposed opponent color theory in 1892. Born in Alt-Gersdorf, Ki ...

.Hering E. Uber den Bau der Wirbelthierleber. Archiv für mikroskopische Anatomie 1867;3:88–118

References

{{Reflist Hepatology