Experimental cysticercosis and the intrahepatic venous systems in Rattus norvegicus

Abstract

During the present investigation, alterations in the intrahepatic venous and portal systems in Rattus norvegicus infected with 250, 500, and 1000 Taenia taeniaeformis eggs were studied. The corrosion cast technique was employed, which provides an extrinsic opportunity for study of the three-dimensional orientation of the vascular architecture. Both of the venous trees were found to be affected, though the portal damage was more extensive. Maximal damage was inferred at 40 days post-infection, when the normal regularity of ramification was lost. Concisely, cysticercosis induced severe changes in the intrahepatic vascular systems, which were found to have gradually recovered at the later stages of infection.