The histological impact of ischemia varies depending on the organ involved:
Heart: In myocardial ischemia, early changes include loss of cross-striations in muscle fibers and the appearance of wavy fibers. With prolonged ischemia, coagulative necrosis occurs, characterized by eosinophilic cytoplasm and loss of nuclei. Brain: Cerebral ischemia leads to red neurons, indicating cell injury. Neuronal death is followed by gliosis, where glial cells proliferate to form a scar. Kidney: Renal ischemia results in acute tubular necrosis, where tubular epithelial cells exhibit vacuolization, loss of brush border, and eventual sloughing into the tubular lumen. Liver: Hepatic ischemia shows centrilobular necrosis, where hepatocytes around the central vein are most affected due to their location furthest from the blood supply.
