Persisting Structural Abnormalities in Liver, Kidney, and Muscle Tissues Following Hemorrhagic Shock

• Hemorrhagic shock-induced abnormalities of liver, kidney, and muscle morphology were studied sequentially for eight days following shock and resuscitation in rabbits. The findings revealed marked structural changes, some of which became more pronounced between one and three days after shock and all of which persisted for at least three days. All of the tissue changes reverted to near normal by eight days. The specific findings included hepatic sinusoidal compression with cellular swelling and vacuolization one day after shock; renal vacuolization and swelling of proximal tubular convolutions, culminating in widespread cellular damage three days after shock; and separation of myofibrils and disruption of the band pattern in muscle tissue. These findings demonstrated the prolongation of the morphological abnormalities induced by shock, previously observed only in the acute phase, and the capacity for structural repair by the tissues after reversible hemorrhagic shock.

(Arch Surg 113:289-293, 1978)