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 simulta-neously by millions of hepatocyte-containing acini, the basic functional hepatic unit. Blood flow then coalesces in the hepatic veins and exits the organ