STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF INTRAHEPATIC BILE DUCTS AND AGE-RELATED MORPHOMETRIC VARIABILITY OF INTRAEPITHELIAL LYMPHOCYTES

Insufficient study of the age-related characteristics of lymphoid structures of the intrahepatic biliary tract under normal morphological conditions complicates a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of immune defense in the liver. The study was conducted on 140 samples of cadaveric material using histological, electron microscopic, and morphometric methods. The reliability of the results was confirmed by comprehensive biostatistical analysis using Fisher, Kruskal-Wallis, and Student-Bonferroni tests. The study described in detail the hierarchical structure of the biliary system—from bile canaliculi formed from the plasmalemma of hepatocytes to large hepatic ducts. The number of intraepithelial lymphocytes in the intrahepatic bile ducts peaks during early childhood and progressively declines into old age. The data obtained allow objective assessment of the quality of donor organs in transplantation and differentiation of age-related immune involution from pathological processes.