[TA] the conceptual polygonal histologic unit of the liver consisting of masses of liver cells arranged around a central vein, a terminal branch of one of the hepatic veins; at the periphery are located preterminal and terminal branches of the portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct; hepatic lobules have anatomic reality in pig liver or pathologically in humans, when fibrous septa are present. SYN: lobulus hepatis [TA], hepatic lobule.
