Some variations of the liver blood supply

Abstract

In addition to the classic textbook descriptions of the hepatobiliary arterial system in a human, a number of vari­ous arterial patterns can be identified in nearly 40% of people. The knowledge of these aberrant arteries might be of considerable importance for liver resections, liver transplants, and some laparoscopic procedures. Two interesting dissection cases of an aberrant hepatic arterial system are reported here. In the first case, an un­usually small proper hepatic artery was identified supplying the left lobe of the liver. An accessory left hepatic artery was observed arising from the left gastric artery. An aberrant, large in diameter, hepatic artery was also found starting from the proximal part of the superior mesenteric artery and replacing the right hepatic artery. From its origin the aberrant artery ascended right behind and slightly lateral to the hepatic portal vein. In the sec­ond case, during the dissection of the celiac trunk branches, a similar pattern was considered at first. There was a small left hepatic artery branching from the common hepatic, an accessory left hepatic artery - from the left gas­tric, and a large in size arterial vessel behind and lateral to the portal vein. The further dissection, however, re­vealed that this aberrant vessel started from the celiac trunk and then it passed behind the portal vein and ascend­ed to supply the right lobe of the liver.