[Morphological changes of the liver after chronic vinyl chloride intoxication (author's transl)].

The monomer vinyl chloride in its gaseous form is used as basic product for industrial synthesis of polyvinyl chloride; it does cause lesions of the liver depending on the dose and the time of exposure. Lesions found on histological examination are: 1. degenerative alterations of liver parenchyma; 2. focal adaptive changes in the cytoplasma of hepatocytes; 3. enlargement of liver cells and polymorphy of cell nuclei; 4. slowly progressive fibrotic and to a lesser degree cirrhotic changes of liver parenchyma, localized in part around the sinus, in part in the septal-periportal areas; 5. activation and proliferation of sinusoidal cells. Sarcoma of the liver due to a probable oncogenic effect of vinyl chloride could be diagnosed in three patients exposed to the toxic agent.