Does pressure cause liver cirrhosis? The sinusoidal pressure hypothesis

Figure 7 Example of a purely pressure-driven fibrosis: Experimental liver congestion over 4 mo causes significant non-inflammatory liver fibrosis. The caval vein was subphrenically partly clamped in Wistar rats to cause hepatic congestion. A: Illustrates LS in male Wistar rats (n = 6) in control, sham operated and clamped group immediately after onset of congestion; B: Histological analysis of liver tissue sections shows a significant development of fibrosis after 4 mo of congestion in the clamped but not sham operated animals. (data from [27]), ^bP < 0.01. LS: Liver stiffness.