Korean J Gastroenterol.
2001 Oct;38(4):227-232.
Experimental Animal Models of Portal Hypertension
Abstract
- Pathophysiologic studies in patients with portal hypertension face many methodologic and ethical difficulties. Therefore, the knowledge of the pathophysiology of portal hypertension is largely based on the results of studies in experimental models. The most commonly used models are rat and murine. It should be emphasized that these models are extremely useful to enhance our understanding of the mechanism and pharmacology of portal hypertension, but they still have limitations and inconvenience. Some of these problems are related to the conditions in which the experiments are performed, the techniques used for hemodynamic measurements, or model-related limitations. These differences should be carefully considered when the results of experimental studies are analyzed, because they may influence the findings of some investigations.
