A new sudden death in rabbits appeared in China and Korea in 1984 and 1985, respectively, and was recognized to be an acute infectious disease caused by a virus. The disease was reported as a "new viral disease", and thereafter, a tentative name of "viral hemorrhagic disease", "hemorrhagic pneumonia" or "viral hemorrhagic pneumonia" has been described in the case reports. But authors had called the viral disease "rabbit viral hepatitis" due to picornavirus infection, because the principal lesion of the disease was an acute hepatitis. The purpose of this report is to describe the electron microscopic findings on the livers in experimentally infected rabbits. All the livers of the affected rabbits were shown to have degenerative changes of a type that is characteristic of acute hepatitis. In the liver cells, there were dilation of rER and mitochondria, vacuole formation of various sizes, and appearances of many virus-like particles in the vicinity of rER, granular bodies and crystalline arrays of viral particles in the cytoplasm with necrotic changes of the nucleus. Clusters of virus-like particles and viral crystals appeared in the cytoplasm of sinusoid endothelial cells and Kupffer's cells with morphological changes of organelles. Also viral crystals were demonstrated in the cytoplasm of macrophages among the liver cells. On the whole, the liver cells had many virus-like particles and a few crystalline arrays of viral particles. Therefore, this implies that the liver cells are the main site of the viral replication in inducing the viremia. It was concluded that the liver was the primary target organ of this viral disease, and the pathological and the ultrastructural evidence suggest that the virus may belong to genus enterovirus

The effects of red ginseng and raw ginseng were examined in vivo mid-term test for hepatocarcinogens in rats. The number of placental type of glutathione S-transferase (GST-P)-positive foci of the liver was significantly reduced in rats given diethylnitrosamine (DEN) followed by raw ginseng (4.77 +- 3.23, p0.05) as compared to the controls given carcinogen alone (9.07 +- 5.69). The area of GST-P positive foci was also significantly reduced in rats given DEN followed by red ginseng (0.5 +- 0.31, p0.05) as compared to the control (0.93 +- 0.65). These result suggest that red or raw ginseng are not hepatocarcinogens and rather may possess inhibitory potential for liver carcinogenesis

The distribution of portal veins within the liver in 30 Korean native cattle were observed. Vinylite solution was injected into portal veins of eighteen specimens for cast preparation. The angiography was prepared in twelve specimens by injecting 30 % barium sulfate solution into portal veins, and then radiographed on an X-ray apparatus (Shimadzu 800 MA 120 Kvp). The Vena portae was divided immediately upon entering the liver into a very short Truncus dexter venae portae (14.75 +- 4.86 : 6.9-23.1mm) and a long Truncus sinister venae portae (94.16 +- 9.62 : 110-150 mm). The Truncus sinister venae portae runs of first in the long axis of the liver from the porta hepatis toward the left lobe. At the boundary between the quardate and left lobes it bends sharply 50 to 80 degrees toward the Incisura ligamentum teretis, and after a course of 36.5 to 54.3 mm between the quadrate and left lobes, ends abruptly. The Truncus sinister venae portae is divided for description into the Pars transversa, from the Porta hepatis to the flexure, and the Pars umbilicalis, from the flexure to the end. The branches of Venae portae were Ramus ventralis lobi sinistri, Ramus intermedius lobi sinistri, Ramus dorsalis lobi sinistri, Ramus lobi quadratti, Ramus ventralis lobi dextri, Ramus intermedius lobi dextri, Ramus dorsalis lobi dextri, Rami processus caudatorum and Rami processus papillarum. The Ramus intermedius lobi sinistri arose from the left surface of the Pars umbilicalis, and was origined on the common trunk with Ramus dorsalis lobi sinistric (3 cases, 10 %) or Ramus ventralis lobi sinistri (3 cases, 10 %). The Rami lobi quadratii consisted of the vein (15 cases, 50 %) or two veins (15 cases, 50%), and was observed on the arched-shaped at 2 cases (6.6 %) of the liver. The Rami processus caudatorum consisted of one vein (28 cases, 93.3 %) or two veins (2 cases, 6.6 %). The former were formed common trunk with R. dorsalis lobi dextri (7 cases, 23.3 %) or R. ventralis lobi dextri (2 cases, 6.6 %)