The Influence of Fear on the Liver of Male Rat: Histopathological and Physiological Study

The present study aimed to analyse the impact of fear on the structure and function of liver in Wistar albino rats. Fifteen adult male Wistar albino rats were divided into one control and two experimental groups, with 5 rats in each group. The animals of the control group were sacrificed by knife directly while the animals of the other two groups were exposed to extreme fear from killing for 60 and 120 seconds before being sacrificed. Blood samples were collected for liver enzyme determination and samples of liver were removed and prepared for histological study. The results of this study showed significant histopathological changes in the liver of rat exposed to fear. These changes included necrosis and vacuolization in hepatic cells, dilation of the central vein and hepatic sinusoids, congestion of blood vessels, proliferation of bile duct, mitotic division in hepatocytes and an increase in Kupffer cells. Moreover, the present study showed that the fear induced slight elevation of liver enzymes AST, ALT and ALP. These results demonstrated that exposure to extreme fear, such as killing, could induce harmful alterations in the liver, and these alterations are time-dependent.