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Here are two authoritative portal tract diagrams from major medical textbooks:
Portal Tract & Liver Architecture Diagrams
Diagram 1 - Liver Architecture Models
(Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, Fig. 71.4)
Key: CV = Central vein | P = Portal tract | N = Nodal point | THV = Terminal hepatic venule
- Classic lobule (left, bold hexagon): Portal tracts at 3 corners, central vein at center
- Portal unit (middle, orange): Portal tract at center, central veins at periphery
- Hepatic acinus (upper right, blue oval): Zones 1-2-3 spanning from portal tract (P) to terminal hepatic venule (THV)
Diagram 2 - Three Functional Concepts of Liver Structure
(Junqueira's Basic Histology, 17th Ed., Fig. 16-18)
Each portal tract (the cluster of hepatic arteriole + bile duct + portal vein at each corner) is shown as a group of three colored circles:
- Red = hepatic arteriole
- Green = bile duct
- Blue/purple = portal vein / central venule
(a) Classic Hepatic Lobule - hexagonal unit with a central venule at the center; blood flows inward from the portal tracts at the corners
(b) Portal Lobule - triangular unit centered on the bile duct; emphasizes the exocrine (bile secretion) function; bile flows outward from hepatocytes toward the central bile duct
(c) Hepatic Acinus (Rappaport's acinus) - diamond/oval unit spanning two portal tracts and two central veins; highlights the oxygen gradient:
- Zone I (periportal) - most oxygenated; active in oxidative metabolism, protein synthesis
- Zone II (intermediate) - intermediate metabolic activity
- Zone III (perivenular/centrilobular) - least oxygenated; site of fatty accumulation, ischemic necrosis, and drug biotransformation
The portal tract itself contains three key structures (the "portal triad"):
- Branch of the portal vein (largest vessel)
- Branch of the hepatic artery (thicker wall, smaller lumen)
- Bile duct (lined by cuboidal cholangiocytes)
Lymphatics and nerves also travel within the portal tract connective tissue. Blood flows from the portal tract sinusoids toward the central vein; bile flows in the opposite direction, from hepatocytes into canaliculi and then into the bile ductules at the portal tract.
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Here are two bile duct anatomy diagrams from authoritative textbooks:
Bile Duct Anatomy
Diagram 1 - Bile Drainage System
(Gray's Anatomy for Students, Fig. 4.112)
(A) Schematic showing the full duct pathway from liver to duodenum. (B) Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram showing the same structures in a real patient.
Bile flow pathway:
Right hepatic duct + Left hepatic duct → Common hepatic duct → joins with cystic duct (from gallbladder) → Common bile duct → joins with main pancreatic duct → enters duodenum at the major duodenal papilla
Diagram 2 - Detailed Biliary & Pancreatic Duct Anatomy
(Histology: A Text and Atlas, Fig. 18.17)
This diagram shows the full system with all named structures:
| Structure | Details |
|---|---|
| Spiral valve (of Heister) | Mucosal folds inside the cystic duct |
| Common hepatic duct | ~3 cm; formed by right + left hepatic ducts at porta hepatis |
| Common bile duct (CBD) | Formed when cystic duct joins common hepatic duct |
| Sphincter of Boyden | Controls flow through the distal common bile duct |
| Main pancreatic duct (of Wirsung) | Runs through the pancreas, joins CBD distally |
| Accessory pancreatic duct (of Santorini) | Drains into minor duodenal papilla |
| Hepatopancreatic ampulla (of Vater) | Junction of CBD + pancreatic duct before entering duodenum |
| Sphincter of Oddi | Surrounds the ampulla; controls bile and pancreatic juice entry into duodenum |
| Major duodenal papilla | Opening into the 2nd part of the duodenum |
When the sphincter of Boyden contracts, bile cannot enter the duodenum and backs up into the gallbladder via the cystic duct for storage and concentration.
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