VENOUS DRAINAGE OF THE DORSAL SECTOR OF THE LIVER - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEGMENT-I AND SEGMENT-IX - A STUDY ON CORROSION CASTS OF THE HUMAN LIVER

The aim of this study was to determine the venous drainage of the dors al sector of the liver in order to define the differences between segm ents I and IX and thier implications for sectorially and segmentally o riented hepatic surgery. The study was based on corrosion casts of 61 macroscopically healthy livers. The drainage pathways of veins at leas t 10 mm long and 1 mm wide were evaluated and statistically analysed. On average, 9 veins drained the two segments and three veins from both segments entered the inferior vena cava. In 95% of cases the veins fr om segment I drained predominantly into the inferior vena cava, wherea s in segment IX this pathway was dominant in only 30% of cases. In 64% of cases a vein originating in segment IX entered the right hepatic v . The difference in the venous drainage of the two segments suggests t hat segment IX partly belongs to the neighbouring segments and may thu s be only a paracaval region of the right liver.