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Abstract
Liver parenchyma shows a remarkable heterogeneity of the hepatocytes along the porto-central
axis with respect to ultrastructure and enzyme activities resulting in different cellular
functions within different zones of the liver lobuli. According to the concept of
metabolic zonation, the spatial organization of the various metabolic pathways and
functions forms the basis for the efficient adaptation of liver metabolism to the
different nutritional requirements of the whole organism in different metabolic states.
The present review summarizes current knowledge about this heterogeneity, its development
and determination, as well as about its significance for the understanding of all
aspects of liver function and pathology, especially of intermediary metabolism, biotransformation
of drugs and zonal toxicity of hepatotoxins.