Partial portal vein ligation plus thioacetamide: a method to obtain a new model of cirrhosis and chronic portal hypertension in the rat.

To obtain a new model of chronic portal hypertension in the rat, two classical methods to produce portal hypertension, partial portal vein ligation and the oral administration of thioacetamide (TAA), have been combined. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: 1 (control; n = 10), 2 [triple partial portal vein ligation (TPVL); n = 9], 3 (TAA; n = 11), and 4 (TPVL plus TAA; n = 9). After 3 months, portal pressure, types of portosystemic collateral circulation, laboratory hepatic function tests (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase) and liver histology were studied.