Intrinsic of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases is an aberrant accumulation of triglycerides (steatosis), which occurs inhomogeneously within lobules. To improve our understanding of mechanisms involved in this zonation patterning, we developed a mathematical model of hepatic fatty acid metabolism accompanied by blood flow simulations. A model analysis determines the influence of the uptake process of fatty acids (saturated vs. nonsaturated), the porto-central gradient of plasma fatty acid concentration, and the oxygen supply via blood on the zonation of triglyceride accumulation. From a theoretical perspective, the plasma oxygen gradient, but not the fatty acid gradient, leads the way to a zonated triglyceride accumulation by its decisive role
