Liver structure guides tissue engineering
The architecture of the liver is elegant in its simplicity. The organ is largely composed of a few cell types, of which hepatocytes, the principal parenchymal cells, contribute to 80% of its mass. The liver receives over 25% of the total resting cardiac output and accounts for 20% of the oxygen consumption. Blood is supplied to the liver by both the hepatic portal vein and hepatic arteries. Within the liver, flow is divided and blood processed simultaneously by millions of hepatocyte containing acini, the basic functional hepatic unit. Blood flow then coalesces in the hepatic veins and exits the organ