Research on the applied anatomy of the hepatic caudate lode

Objective:To provide the morphological basis for the operation of the diseased hepatic caudate lobe.Methods:The morphology,adjacency and ducts of the hepatic caudate lobe were observed with corrosion cast in 42 isolated liver specimens of adult cadavers. The cast specimens of the hepatic vein in 6 cadavers were prepared to investigate the tributaries and courses of the vein system of the caudate lobe. SGI specimens were prepared and the space relationship of the adjacent major vascular structure of the caudate lobe was reconstructed in three dimensions with computer. Total caudate lobectomy was imitatively performed using 3 whole cadavers.Results:It was found in dissection that the origin of three vessels(artery,portalvein and bile duct) of the caudate lobe was decentralized,did not concentrate,and the courses of them were short. The portal vein in the caudate lobe was found to have superiority of concentrated distribution in the cast specimen. The space relationship of the caudate lobe and its adjacent major vascular structures has been reconstructed successfully on 1 adult cadaver. Total caudate lobectomy was successfully performed on the whole cadaver.Conclusion:The position and adjacency of the caudate lobe of the liver is special and the anatomicosurgical relation is complicated. The pattern of the operation of the hepatic caudate lobe depends on the position,size,nature of the lesion and the function of the liver. The postero inferior approach dissociationg the caudate lobe is a pathway worthy to try.