Definition: A hepatocyte is a liver cell. Cells are the smallest functional units of the body. They combine to make up tissues, which then combine with other tissues to make organs.
Specialized cells, such as hepatocytes, are often given a more specific name. For example, neurons are conducting cells (transmitting electrical impulses) of the nervous system, pneumonocytes are epithelial cells (lining the surface) in the lungs and osteocytes are mature bone cells.
In the body, disease happens at the cellular level. When hepatotropic viruses infect the liver, they are actually infecting hepatocytes.
