Abstract

The amount of connective tissue present, relative to the amount of parenchymal tissue, has been assessed in a random series of 200 livers from children dying from non-hepatic disease. The amount of connective tissue in the left liver is approximately twice that in the right liver. The connective tissue in both lobes progressively diminishes during childhood but at all times remains higher than that in adults.

Increased amounts of connective tissue in the liver in children is probably non-specific and related to the degree and duration of shock and hypoxia in the immediate postnatal period.