Fig. 4. Regional distribution of hepatic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content after shock and resuscitation. Regional distribution of hepatic ATP concentrations after shock and resuscitation was studied in cross sections of liver lobes obtained at the end of the experiment by ATP bioluminescence. Representative liver sections of n = 4 are shown. Livers from sham-operated control rats (A ) showed homogenous distribution of ATP over the whole liver lobe. Resuscitation with stored blood (B ) or pentastarch (C ) was associated with a heterogenous distribution of ATP with areas of substantial ATP depletion and areas with normal ATP content. Resuscitation with low-dose perflubron emulsion (PFE) led to an almost homogenous distribution (D ) comparable with controls, whereas resuscitation with high-dose PFE (E ) led to ATP concentrations substantially above control over the whole liver lobe.