Data concerning the histogenesis of intrahepatic biliary ducts in human embryofetal life.

The development and histostructural organization of intrahepatic biliary ducts were studied on a human embryofetal material 6 to 32 weeks old. These formations appeared during the whole study period, in close connexion with the extension of the portal vasculo-connective spaces. In the epitheliomesenchymal contact area, the liver cells of limiting plates possessing an increased histogenetic plasticity will generate, through a metamorphosis process, the bordering epithelia of intrahepatic biliary structures.