OBJECTIVE
To present features of embryogenesis disruptions in different types of dysontogenetic liver cysts.
KEY POINTS
Congenital liver cysts are found throughout the biliary tract, from the intralobular ducts to the intraduodenal part of the common bile duct. The cysts’ clinical manifestations are diverse: from asymptomatic course to liver failure, cholangitis, portal hypertension, bleeding, and cysts inflammation. First cases of the liver cysts were described during surgeries or autopsies in the 19th century. In the XX century, with the invention of the new imaging methods (ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging), cysts’ detection rate increased from 0.14% to 7%. Several classifications of liver cysts are presented in the reviews based on the etiology, clinical features, and anatomy. Disturbances in molecular, hormonal, and neuroendocrine interactions between liver parenchyma and stroma may lead to cyst formation and liver fibrosis. This concept was based on an analysis of the liver cysts and polycystic liver disease morphology and comparison with the stages of normal embryogenesis of the liver and bile ducts.
CONCLUSION
Literature analysis about liver cysts indicates the dysontogenetic nature of their development — malformation of the ductal plate, which occurs from the 12th week, and the migration of bronchiolar «buds» from the 3rd to the 8th week of embryogenesis, allows us to conclude that solitary liver cysts and polycystic liver disease are a relatively heterogeneous group of diseases with various patho- and morphogenesis.