HTML ISSUE
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 JANUARY-MARCH 2026
Comparative Histomorphometric Analysis of Hepatocyte Nuclear Morphometry and Binucleation in Young and Elderly Adult Cadavers: A Pilot Study
Swapnil Kumar L Sarda, Abigail Dorothy C. Apacible, Reeha Mahajan, Sandip Dandapat,
Background: Aging of the liver is accompanied by subtle structural alterations at the cellular level, including changes in hepatocyte nuclear morphology and the frequency of binucleated cells. Quantitative human data describing these changes remain limited, particularly in cadaveric studies employing objective morphometric techniques.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional histomorphometric study was conducted on liver tissue obtained from 16 adult cadavers. Specimens were categorized into two age groups: young adults (20–40 years, n = 8) and elderly adults (≥60 years, n = 8). Standardized wedge biopsies were obtained from the right hepatic lobe, processed using routine histological techniques, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Digital histomorphometry was used to measure hepatocyte nuclear diameter, nuclear area, cytoplasmic area, nuclear-to-cytoplasmic (N:C) ratio, and the percentage of binucleated hepatocytes. Statistical comparisons between groups were performed using appropriate parametric or nonparametric tests, with significance set at p < 0.05.
Results: Elderly specimens demonstrated significantly greater nuclear diameter and nuclear area compared with young adults (p < 0.001). The N:C ratio was also significantly higher in the elderly group. In addition, the proportion of binucleated hepatocytes showed a marked increase in elderly cadavers, exceeding twofold relative to younger specimens (p < 0.001). Age exhibited strong positive correlations with nuclear morphometric parameters and binucleation frequency.
Conclusion: Hepatic aging is associated with measurable enlargement of hepatocyte nuclei and increased binucleation, reflecting structural remodeling of liver parenchyma. Despite the modest sample size, the consistent morphometric trends observed highlight the utility of quantitative histological analysis in characterizing physiological hepatic aging.
Keywords: hepatic aging, hepatocyte morphometry, binucleation, liver histology, cadaveric study, nuclear morphometry, polyploidy, hepatic senescence.