Hepatic caecum found in certain crustaceans. In some insects, such as the grasshopper, several pairs of hepatic caeca secrete enzymes into the stomach where they assist in the digestive process. Hepatic caecum Hepatic caecum or hepatic cecum is a name used in describing various physiological structures in some crustaceans, insects and cephalochordates. "Hepatic" refers to the liver, and the hepatic caecum may perform some functions that are analogous to the functions of the liver in vertebrates. A digestive organ called the hepatic caecum is found in the cephalochordate amphioxus, or lancelet. The hepatic caecum of the amphioxus is a presumed homologue of
Organ-on-a-chip models that replicate aspects of the human body as closely as possible and give examples that demonstrate their potential use in drug development, such as identifying synergistic drug interactions as well as simulating multi-organ metabolic interactions. Multi compartment micro fluidic-based devices, particularly those that are physical representations of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models that represent the mass transfer of compounds in compartmental models of the mammalian body, may contribute to improving the drug development process. Mathematical pharmacokinetic (PK) models aim to estimate concentration-time profiles within each organ on the basis of the initial drug dose. Such mathematical models can be