Histopathological Changes in the Right, Median, and Left Liver Lobes of Wistar Rats: Effects of Chronic Binge Ethanol Exposure and Diet

Objectives: To examine the effect of alcohol exposure and diet between male and female rats, considering tissue damage in the right, median, and left liver lobes in different observation periods. Methods: The study used the protocol established by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) model with modification to determine the severity of damage in the three (right, median, and left) lobes of the liver of male and female Wistar rats under prolonged chronic-binge ethanol feeding using liquid and solid diets in various observation periods. Findings: Results show an evident histopathological alteration in the three liver lobes. The damage severity scoring index was categorized into mild, moderate, and severe. Using advanced Python programming and data visualization, the finding shows that early hepatological damage is defined by microvesicular and macrovesicular steatosis and hypertrophy formation, showing a damage score ranging from 1 to 2. Moderate to severe damage in the liver is defined by an increasing damage score with the addition of inflammation. The study also revealed that female rats are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol at early stages, with severe liver damage than males. Furthermore, the study found that alcohol damage in both liquid and solid meals cause significant damage to the liver's median lobe, followed by the right and left lobes. Novelty: Female rats are more susceptible to alcohol-induced liver injury than male rats. The median lobe was first severely affected by alcohol. Tissue visualization is improved by computational analysis. Keywords: Chronic binge ethanol exposure, Liver lobe pathology, Wistar rats, Solid diet, Liquid diet