Abstract

The serious repercussions of cholestasis on the liver and on the systemic level have led to the creation of many experimental models so as to better understand its pathogenesis, prophylaxis and treatment. Among the surgical techniques for developing extrahepatic cholestasis, the resection of the bile ducts that drain the lobes of the liver by means of a microsurgical technique stands out. In the long-term evolution, microsurgical extrahepatic cholestatic rats develop hepatic fibrosis with marked ductular proliferation and portal hypertension with collateral portosystemic circulation, hepatic encephalopathy and ascytes.