Electron microscopic observations on metastatic carcinoma of human liver

Some investigations have been reported on the fine s t ructure of human hepatoma, whi le little on metastat ic carcinome of human liver. Two cases of metas ta t ic carcinomas in the liver, one of which was adenocarcinoma of sixty-four-year-old man obtained by the needle biopsy and another carcinoma simplex of seventy-three-year-old woman obtained by the exploratory laparotomy were examined with electron microscope. Mitochondria were small and scanty in the cell of adenocarcinoma. Cristae mitochondriales were i rregular and partly disappeared to become vacuole. Cisternae of rough of rough ER were dilated to form vesicle or vacuole-like structure. Extremely bizzare and irregular nucleus and its envelope deeply dipping into the nuclear matr ix to form inclusion body or vacuole were observed. In the lumen formed by several tumor cells long microvilli resembling those of intestine were most prominent. The cell of carcinoma simplex had a gigantic nucleus and a greatly decreased cytoplasmic volume. Few organelles were seen except for abundant free ribosomes. Bile ductulus-like formaions were present frequently between the adjacent cells, Neither microvilli nor bile pigment, however were observed.