transport
Last reviewed 01/2018
Bile passes within bile canaliculi from the centre of the lobule to the periphery. It then enters the biliary ductules which converge to form increasingly large ducts. The ducts from the right side of the liver converge on the right hepatic duct; the left-sided ducts converge at the left hepatic duct.
Right and left hepatic ducts converge at the common hepatic duct. The biliary tree then diverges into cystic duct to the gallbladder and common bile duct heading to duodenum.
As bile is transported along this route, its composition is further modified. Secretion and reabsoption can both occur; the secreted fluid tends to contain relatively concentrated amounts of sodium and bicarbonate. Secretion is stimulated by the hormones CCK, secretin and gastrin.