Hepatocytes and Sinusoids

This image shows the close proximity between the blood in the sinusoids and hepatocytes. Endothelial cells line the sinusoids. These endothelial cells form a discontinuous endothelium that has wide gaps between cells and lacks a basement membrane and is therefore very permeable. Hepatocytes secrete bile into canaliculi that are defined by junctions between hepatocytes. Bile flows through theses narrow tubes toward the bile duct. Also visible is a Kupffer cell. Kupffer cells are the resident macrophages of the liver and are typically found within the lumen of the sinusoids.