Gross Anatomical Studies on the Portal Vein, Hepatic Artery and Bile Duct in the Liver of the Pig

Abstract

Nowadays, pig has been chosen as the potential source of organs and cells for human to overcome a sever shortage of human material for clinical transplantation especially in the last 10 years by use of genetically modified swine. Consequently, the present study was conducted to give detailed information about the distribution of the blood vessels and bile ducts and their topographic relations, which may give a useful base for the hepatic segmentation in this animal aiming to provide a correct base for surgical procedures and liver transplantation. � The present study was conducted on 33 livers of pigs. Dissection, casting and radio-opaque techniques have been applied to show the different ramifications of the portal vein, hepatic artery and bile duct systems as well as their topographic relations with proposals of hepatic segmentation. The results revealed that, the caudate, right lateral and right medial lobes were supplied by R. dorsalis dexter and R. ventralis dexter of the portal vein in addition to R. dexter of the hepatic artery and right hepatic duct. The quadrate, left medial and left lateral lobes were supplied by the R. sinister of the portal vein and hepatic artery and left hepatic duct. � The liver of the pig could be divided into two independent segments; right and left. These two segments were separated by a segmental plane passed from the esophageal notch dorsally to the fossa of the gall bladder ventrally.