Histochemical studies on carbohydrate metabolism in rat liver after galactosamine administration.

The development of hepatitis, induced in 48 rats by the administration of galactosamine (GalN) in varying doses, was studied with the use of substrate and enzyme histochemical techniques. The so-called atypical glycogen, which is at first highly resistant to diastase, was shown to be digestible after deamination. The increasing accumulation of atypical glycogen during the course of GalN-hepatitis conceals the loss of normal glycogen when the PAS-reaction is used.