Abstract
Increased resistance to portal blood flow is the primary factor in the pathophysiology of portal hypertension, and may occur at any site within the portal venous system. In cirrhosis, increased intrahepatic vascular resistance is the consequence of the distortion of the liver vascular architecture caused by fibrosis, scarring and nodule formation. Careful pathological studies have suggested that thrombosis of medium and small portal and hepatic veins occurs frequently in cirrhosis, and that these events may be important in causing further progression of cirrhosis and worsening portal hypertension1. In addition, the active contraction, in response to several agonists, of different contractile cell types in the liver promotes a further increase in intrahepatic resistance2. It has been claimed that this dynamic and reversible component may represent up to 40% of the increased intrahepatic vascular resistance in cirrhosis.
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García-Pagán, J.C. (2004). Enhanced release of vasoconstrictors. In: Groszmann, R.J., Bosch, J. (eds) Portal Hypertension in the 21st Century. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1042-9_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1042-9_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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