Perceptions of porta-celiac vascular models for hepatic surgery and their use in residency training.

BACKGROUND: Primary aspect of hepatic navigation surgery is the identification of source vascular details to preserve healthy liver which has a vascular anatomy quite challenging for the young surgeons. The purpose was to determine whether three-dimensional (3D) vascular pattern models of preoperative computed tomography (CT) images will assist resident-level trainees for hepatic surgery. METHODS: This study was based on the perception of residents who were presented with 5 different hepatic source vascular patterns and required to compare their perception level of CT, and 1:1 models in terms of importance of variability, differential of patterns and preoperative planning. RESULTS: All residents agree that models provided better understanding of vascular source and improved preplanning. Five stations provided qualitative assessment with results showing the usefulness of porta-celiac models when used as anatomical tools in preplanning (p = 0.04), simulation of interventional procedures (p = 0.02), surgical education (p = 0.01). None of the cases had scored less than 8.5. Responses related to understanding variations were significantly higher in the perception of the 3D model in all cases, furthermore 3D models were more useful for seniors in more complex cases 3 and 5. Some open-ended answers: "The 3D model can completely change the operation plan" One of the major factors for anatomical resection of liver transplantation is the positional relationship between the hepatic arteries and the portal veins. CONCLUSION: The plastic-like material presenting the hepatic vascularity enables the visualization of the origin, pattern, shape, and angle of the branches with appropriate spatial perception thus making it well-structured.

Reference limits for hepatic bile duct-to-arteriole and bile duct-to-portal tract ratios in healthy cats.

OBJECTIVE To establish reference limits for hepatic bile duct-to-arteriole ratio (BD:A) and bile duct-to-portal tract ratio (BD:PT) in healthy cats and assess whether these parameters could be used to support a diagnosis of biliary ductopenia in cats. SAMPLE Hepatic biopsy samples from healthy cats (n = 20) and cats with ductopenia (2). PROCEDURES Hepatic biopsy samples from healthy cats were used to count the number of bile ducts and hepatic arterioles in 20 portal tracts for each cat. Mean BD:A and mean BD:PT for each cat were calculated, and these values were used to determine reference limits for mean BD:A and mean BD:PT. Results of histologic evaluation, including immunohistochemical staining in some instances, were compared for healthy cats versus cats with ductopenia. RESULTS Of the 400 portal tracts from healthy cats, 382 (95.5%) and 396 (99.0%) had BD:A and BD:PT, respectively, ≥ 1.0, with less variability in BD:A. Mean BD:A and BD:PT were markedly lower in both cats with ductopenia, compared with values for healthy cats. However, only mean BD:A for cats with ductopenia was below the reference limit of 0.59. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that systematic evaluation of BD:A, with a lower reference limit of 0.59 to define biliary ductopenia in cats, may be a discrete and easily applied morphometric tool to enhance detection of ductopenia in cats. However, application of this ratio required evaluation of ≥ 20 portal tracts with cross-sectioned portal elements to determine a mean BD:A value.

Implementation of 3D printed superior mesenteric vascular models for surgical planning and/or navigation in right colectomy with extended D3 mesenterectomy: comparison of virtual and physical models to the anatomy found at surgery.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has recently been well approved as an emerging technology in various fields of medical education and practice; e.g., there are numerous studies evaluating 3D printouts of solid organs. Complex surgery such as extended mesenterectomy imposes a need to analyze also the accuracy of 3D printouts of more mobile and complex structures like the diversity of vascular arborization within the central mesentery. The objective of this study was to evaluate the linear dimensional anatomy landmark differences of the superior mesenteric artery and vein between (1) 3D virtual models, (2) 3D printouts, and (3) peroperative measurements. METHODS: The study included 22 patients from the ongoing prospective multicenter trial "Safe Radical D3 Right Hemicolectomy for Cancer through Preoperative Biphasic MDCT Angiography," with preoperative CT and peroperative measurements. The patients were operated in Norway between January 2016 and 2017. Their CT datasets underwent 3D volume rendering and segmentation, and the virtual 3D model produced was then exported for stereolithography 3D printing. RESULTS: Four parameters were measured: distance between the origins of the ileocolic and the middle colic artery, distance between the termination of the gastrocolic trunk and the ileocolic vein, and the calibers of the middle colic and ileocolic arteries. The inter-arterial distance has proven a strong correlation between all the three modalities implied (Pearson's coefficient 0.968, 0.956, 0.779, respectively), while inter-venous distances showed a weak correlation between peroperative measurements and both virtual and physical models. CONCLUSION: This study showed acceptable dimensional inter-arterial correlations between 3D printed models, 3D virtual models and authentic soft tissue anatomy of the central mesenteric vessels, and weaker inter-venous correlations between all the models, reflecting the highly variable nature of veins in situ.

The concept of portal system obstruction in Avicenna's canon of medicine

Historical literature on portal hypertension is mainly focused on the contemporary advances in therapeutic methods, especially surgical ones. However, it seems that the origin of the human knowledge on the portal system, its association with the caval system, obstructive pathologies in this system and the gastrointestinal bleeding due to hepatic diseases might be much older than previously believed. Avicenna provided a detailed anatomy of the portal venous system and its feeding branches in the Canon of Medicine. Soddat al-Kabed va al-Masarigha (liver and mesenteric occlusion) is also a disease presented by Avicenna with clinical, etiological and therapeutic descriptions suggesting the fact that Soddat al-Kabed va al-Masarigha has multiple similarities with the currently identified concept of "portal hypertension". He presented sense of heaviness in the liver area with or without mild pain, anemia, pale and inappropriate body color, and loose stool which can be complicated with ascites, infection, fever and abdominal pain as clinical manifestations of this disease. He has also suggested therapeutic approaches including laxative and diuretic herbs to help excreting the obstructive material into stool or urine.

Portal hypertension: Imaging of portosystemic collateral pathways and associated image-guided therapy.

Portal hypertension is a common clinical syndrome, defined by a pathologic increase in the portal venous pressure. Increased resistance to portal blood flow, the primary factor in the pathophysiology of portal hypertension, is in part due to morphological changes occurring in chronic liver diseases. This results in rerouting of blood flow away from the liver through collateral pathways to low-pressure systemic veins. Through a variety of computed tomographic, sonographic, magnetic resonance imaging and angiographic examples, this article discusses the appearances and prevalence of both common and less common portosystemic collateral channels in the thorax and abdomen. A brief overview of established interventional radiologic techniques for treatment of portal hypertension will also be provided. Awareness of the various imaging manifestations of portal hypertension can be helpful for assessing overall prognosis and planning proper management.

Systematic extrahepatic Glissonean pedicle isolation for anatomical liver resection based on Laennec's capsule: proposal of a novel comprehensive surgical anatomy of the liver.

Anatomical liver resection with the Glissonean pedicle isolation is widely approved as an essential procedure for safety and curability. Especially, the extrahepatic Glissonean pedicle isolation without parenchymal destruction should be an ideal procedure. However, the surgical technique has not been standardized due to a lack of anatomical understanding. Herein, we proposed a novel comprehensive surgical anatomy of the liver based on Laennec's capsule that would give a theoretical background to the extrahepatic Glissonean pedicle isolation. Laennec's capsule is the proper membrane that covers not only the entire surface of the liver including the bare area but also the intrahepatic parenchyma surrounding the Glissonean pedicles. Consequently, there exists a gap between the Glissonean pedicle and Laennec's capsule that could be reached extrahepatically and allows us to isolate the extrahepatic Glissonean pedicle without parenchymal destruction systematically. For standardization, it is essential to approach the "six gates" indicated by the "four anatomical landmarks": the Arantius plate, the umbilical plate, the cystic plate and the Glissonean pedicle of the caudate process (G1c). This novel anatomy would contribute to standardize the surgical techniques of the systematic extrahepatic Glissonean pedicle isolation for anatomical liver resection including laparoscopic or robotic liver resection and to bring innovative changes in hepatobiliary surgery for spreading safe and curable liver resection.

Morphometric characterization of the human portal and hepatic venous trees: A quantitative support to the liver micro-anatomic models free of subunits.

Conventional models of liver microanatomy assume the presence of subunits. Nevertheless, some researchers propose that the liver is a continuous structure, free of these subunits, but with a characteristic vascular pattern. The present study describes a morphometric analysis of portal and hepatic veins in 50 human autopsy non-pathological liver samples. The main objective was to measure three proportions: 1. portal tracts / hepatic veins, 2. distributing portal veins / distributing hepatic veins and 3. terminal portal veins / terminal hepatic veins. These ratios were compared with the traditional microcirculatory liver models. Our material comprised 3,665 portal veins and 3,761 hepatic veins. The minimum diameter of half of the venous vessels of both types belongs to the interval (25µm , 60µm), given that 1881 portal veins (49.434%) and 1924 hepatic veins (50.565%) fall within this interval. We have statistically shown with the χ² test (α=0.990) that the portal and hepatic veins belonging to the interval (25µm , 400µm) (distributing veins) had an identical proportion. If the portal and hepatic veins are arranged according to the principle of interdigitation of Takashasi (1970), there should be an almost identical number of both types of veins. Our results contradict the presumably numeric preponderance of distributing portal veins with regard to the distributing hepatic veins that is inherent in the models of Kiernan, Matsumoto and Rappaport.

Hígado: siete segmentos hepáticos / Liver: seven hepatic segments

Estudiamos la estructura intrahepática en 200 hígados (A05.8.01.001)* humanos: Las ramas portales, arteriales y biliares formaron siete pedículos segmentarios antes de penetrar en su parénquima correspondiente. Los cuatro primeros pertenecen, generalmente, al lóbulo izquierdo (A05.8.01.027) y los segmentos V, VI y VII al lóbulo derecho (A05.8.01.026). En un 80 % la rama portal V es derecha y en 20 % izquierda; por su parte, en un 80 % la fisura portal principal (A05.8.01.035) divide el lóbulo derecho del izquierdo, extendiéndose desde la fosa de la vesícula biliar (A05.8.01.013) al margen izquierdo de la vena cava inferior (A12.3.09.001); en un 20 % la fisura portal derecha (A05.8.01.036) divide el lóbulo derecho del izquierdo, ella se extiende desde un punto equidistante entre el margen vesicular derecho y el ángulo anterior derecho del hígado, describiendo una curva de convexidad externa y alcanza el margen derecho de la vena cava inferior. En un 70 % el hígado estuvo irrigado por la arteria hepática propia (A12.2.12.029), en un 30 % ésta se anastomosaba con arterias hepáticas accesorias. Observamos anastomosis entre la arteria hepática derecha (A12.2.12.030) y la izquierda (A12.2.12.035) en un 55 % de los casos en el hilio inferior y no en el espesor del parénquima. Las arterias segmentarias al penetrar a su correspondiente segmento se vuelven terminales. Los conductos biliares aberrantes son conductos biliares segmentarios que no han confluido para constituir el conducto hepático derecho (A05.8.01.062), drenan en el conducto hepático común (A05.8.01.061) o en el conducto cístico (A05.8.02.011). El tronco común biliar de los segmentos VI y VII drena en el conducto hepático izquierdo (A05.8.01.065) en el 21 % de los casos, no más allá de un cm del punto de formación del conducto hepático común. En relación al grupo venoso superior, conformado por la vena hepática izquierda (A12.3.09.008), vena hepática intermedia (A12.3.09.007) y vena hepática derecha (A12.3.09.006), observamos venas del lóbulo caudado+ en el 100 % de los casos y la vena hepática inferior derecha+ en el 61 %. Estas tenían un diámetro entre 5 y 20 mm, habiendo 5 % de casos con vena hepática media derecha+. En un 40 % existe un puente parenquimal que une los segmentos III y IV. En un 25 % apreciamos lóbulos hepáticos accesorios que se desprenden de la cara visceral del hígado. El objetivo de este trabajo consistió en aportar una clasificación sencilla de la segmentación hepática desde un punto de vista quirúrgico.

Intrahepatic structure study in 200 human livers: The Portal, arterial and biliary branches form seven segmental pedicles before entering the corresponding parenchyma. The first four belong, generally to the left lobe and the number V, VI and VII to the right. In 80 % portal branch V is right and 20 % is left, so in 80 % the line dividing both hemi livers ranges from biliary cystic fossa to the left edge of the inferior cava vein; in 20 % said line running from a equidistant point between biliary cystic fossa right margin and the right anterior angle edge of the liver, describes a convex outer curve and reaches the right edge of the inferior cava vein. 70 % of the livers were supplied by the hepatic artery, in 30 % there were anastomosis with accessory hepatic arteries. We observed anastomosis between the left and right hepatic artery in 55 % of cases in the hilum plate and not in the thickness of the parenchyma. Segmental arteries while penetrating their segments, become terminal. Aberrant bile ducts are segmental bile, they have not come together to form the right hepatic duct, draining into the common hepatic or cystic. Biliary common duct segments VI and VII drains into the left hepatic duct in 21 % of cases, no more than 1 cm from the point of formation of the common hepatic. Besides in (left hepatic, intermediate and and right hepatic) upper venous system we observed veins in the caudate lobe in 100 % of cases, and right lower hepatic in 61 % of cases, these had a diameter between 5 and 20 mm, and 5 % with right middle hepatic. At 40 % there is a parenchymal bridge linking segments III and IV. In 25 % we appreciate accessory lobes arising from the underside of the liver. The aim of this study was to provide a simple classification of the hepatic segmentation from a surgical point of view.

Developmental anatomy of the liver from computerized three-dimensional reconstructions of four human embryos (from Carnegie stage 14 to 23).

BACKGROUND & AIM: Some aspects of human embryogenesis and organogenesis remain unclear, especially concerning the development of the liver and its vasculature. The purpose of this study was to investigate, from a descriptive standpoint, the evolutionary morphogenesis of the human liver and its vasculature by computerized three-dimensional reconstructions of human embryos. MATERIAL & METHODS: Serial histological sections of four human embryos at successive stages of development belonging to three prestigious French historical collections were digitized and reconstructed in 3D using software commonly used in medical radiology. Manual segmentation of the hepatic anatomical regions of interest was performed section by section. RESULTS: In this study, human liver organogenesis was examined at Carnegie stages 14, 18, 21 and 23. Using a descriptive and an analytical method, we showed that these stages correspond to the implementation of the large hepatic vascular patterns (the portal system, the hepatic artery and the hepatic venous system) and the biliary system. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, our work is the first descriptive morphological study using 3D computerized reconstructions from serial histological sections of the embryonic development of the human liver between Carnegie stages 14 and 23.

Automated anatomical labeling of abdominal arteries and hepatic portal system extracted from abdominal CT volumes.

This paper proposes a method for automated anatomical labeling of abdominal arteries and a hepatic portal system. In abdominal surgeries, understanding blood vessel structure is critical since it is very complicated. The input of the proposed method is the blood vessel region extracted from the CT volume. The blood vessel region is expressed as a tree structure by applying a thinning process to it and compute the mapping from the branches in the tree structure to the anatomical names. First, several characteristic anatomical names are assigned by rule-based pre-processing. The branches assigned to these names are used as references. The remaining blood vessel names are assigned using a likelihood function trained by a machine-learning technique. Simple rule-based postprocessing can correct several blood vessel names. The output of the proposed method is a tree structure with anatomical names. In an experiment using 50 blood vessel regions manually extracted from abdominal CT volumes, the recall and precision rates of the abdominal arteries were 86.2% and 85.3%, and they were 86.5% and 79.5% for the hepatic portal system.

Endoscopic ultrasound description of liver segmentation and anatomy.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) can demonstrate the detailed anatomy of the liver from the transgastric and transduodenal routes. Most of the liver segments can be imaged with EUS, except the right posterior segments. The intrahepatic vascular landmarks include the major hepatic veins, portal vein radicals, hepatic arterial branches, and the inferior vena cava, and the venosum and teres ligaments are other important intrahepatic landmarks. The liver hilum and gallbladder serve as useful surface landmarks. Deciphering liver segmentation and anatomy by EUS requires orienting the scan planes with these landmarkstructures, and is different from the static cross-sectional radiological images. Orientation during EUS requires appreciation of the numerous scan planes possible in real-time, and the direction of scanning from the stomach and duodenal bulb. We describe EUS imaging of the liver with a curved linear probe in a step-by-step approach, with the relevant anatomical details, potential applications, and pitfalls of this novel EUS application.

Congenital and acquired abnormalities of the portal venous system: multidetector CT appearances.

A knowledge of normal anatomy as well as the most frequent variants and abnormalities of the portal venous system are of great importance for liver surgery and interventional procedures. An understanding of the varied MDCT appearances of these abnormalities will allow more definitive diagnoses and help avoid false diagnoses.

Portal hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

Portal hypertension (PH) is the result of increased vascular resistance in the portal circulation, increased portal venous blood flow, or both. In veterinary medicine, where portal pressure is seldom measured directly, the diagnosis of PH often is inferred from identification of associated complications including multiple acquired portosystemic shunts, ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy. Likewise, treatment of PH primarily is aimed at controlling these complications. The goal of this review is to provide an update on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of PH. The review draws from information in the veterinary hepatology literature, reviews, and consensus statements in human hepatology and the literature on experimental models of PH.

Building the body: active learning laboratories that emphasize practical aspects of anatomy and integration with radiology.

Active learning exercises were developed to allow advanced medical students to revisit and review anatomy in a clinically meaningful context. In our curriculum, students learn anatomy two to three years before they participate in the radiology clerkship. These educational exercises are designed to review anatomy content while highlighting its relevance to the study of radiology. Laboratory exercises were developed using inexpensive materials in the form of hands-on stations designed for use by students working together in small groups. Station exercises include model building, exploring relevant radiological imaging, and practicing clinical techniques. Students are encouraged to move from abstract conceptualization of the anatomy using models to applying knowledge to living tissues by using a portable ultrasound to explore superficial anatomy on each other. Stations are designed to integrate knowledge and reemphasize concepts in different contexts, so that upon completion students have a reinforced understanding of the three-dimensional anatomy of the region in question, the appearance of the anatomy on radiological images, and an appreciation of the relevance of the anatomy to radiological procedures.

Hilar anatomical variations in living-donor liver transplantation using right-lobe grafts.

BACKGROUND: Living-donor liver transplantation using a right-lobe graft has increased the frequency of hilar anatomical variations despite its advantage of a larger graft volume. METHODS: Sixty-seven living-donor liver transplantations using right-lobe grafts are reviewed, regarding the surgical anatomy of hilar vascular and biliary systems. RESULTS: The portal anatomy was classified into four types. The incidence of double portal vein was 6.0% (n = 4), and for such cases a unified orifice (n = 1) or a Y-graft (n = 3) was used for reconstruction. The arterial system was classified into five types. The incidence of arterial complications was 6.0% (n = 4), all of which occurred in cases where the graft artery was connected to the recipient's right hepatic artery. The biliary system was classified into four types. The incidence of a double bile duct was 7.5% (n = 5), and that of a unified one was 29.8% (n = 20). Hepaticojejunostomy was more prone to biliary sepsis (25.0%) and bile leakage (18.8%) than duct-to-duct connection (0 and 2%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Hilar anatomical variations in right-lobe living-donor liver transplantation could be managed after preoperative detailed evaluation of the graft and intraoperative appropriate surgical decision and techniques.

The sonographic search for portosystemic shunts.

The diagnostic investigation of portosystemic shunts (PSS) has evolved over the last few decades, helping to understand and identify these vascular anomalies that affect many dogs and cats. Ultrasonography has become an important tool in small animals and high-resolution systems are now widely available. Several sonographic features are observed with the different types of congenital and acquired PSS. A systematic, stepwise approach is described to facilitate ultrasound diagnosis of PSS in small animals.

Epidemiologic factors associated with the anatomic location of intrahepatic portosystemic shunts in dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether breed, sex, country of origin, and age are associated with anatomic location of intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (IHPSS) in dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Multi-institutional retrospective case series. SAMPLE POPULATION: Dogs (n=125) with IHPSS from the veterinary teaching hospitals of the University of Florida (21), Sydney University (44), and the University of California-Davis (60). METHODS: Dogs with surgical/necropsy confirmation of single IHPSS were identified. Data were analyzed using logistic regression for associations between age, breed, sex, and country with the anatomic location of IHPSS. RESULTS: Right (34%), left (34%), and central divisional IHPSS (32%) were prevalent with approximately equal frequency in Australia; in the United States, the prevalence of right (24%) and central divisional (26%) combined was similar to left divisional IHPSS (51%). Country (P=048), sex (P=.016), and Australian cattle dog ([ACD], P=.025) were significantly associated with IHPSS location. Dogs in Australia had 2.5-fold higher odds of having right versus left divisional IHPSS. Males and ACD had 2.8- and 5.6-fold higher odds of having right versus left divisional IHPSS. Australian dogs were significantly older than those in the United States (P<.0001) and ACD were significantly older than other breeds (P=.0067). CONCLUSIONS: Although country of origin, breed, and sex had significant associations with anatomic location of IHPSS, signalment does not appear to be a strong predictor of shunt location when used alone. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: For the common breeds in this report, signalment is only occasionally helpful in predicting likelihood of anatomic division in IHPSS. Australian cattle dogs and male dogs have a statistical association with right (versus left) divisional IHPSS. If advanced imaging techniques are not available, veterinary surgeons should be prepared to locate and address any anatomic configuration of IHPSS in a dog.