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Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of hepatocytes (liver cells) near the edge of liver tissue. Capillaries and collagen have been digested away from the surface. Hepatocytes manufactures serum albumin, fibrinogen and the prothrombin group of clotting factors. They are the main site for the synthesis of lipoproteins, ceruloplasmin, transferrin, complement and glycoproteins. Hepatocytes manufacture their own structural proteins and intracellular enzymes. Synthesis of proteins is by the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), and both the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) are involved in secretion of the proteins formed. Magnification: x220 when shortest axis printed at 25 millimetres. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/DENNIS KUNKEL MICROSCOPY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)