title: The caudate processus hepatic vein: a boundary hepatic vein between the caudate lobe and the right liver.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to find the boundary vein indicating the intersegmental plane between the caudate lobe and the adjacent liver segments.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Major hepatic veins of the human liver commonly run through the intersegmental plane and are widely used for the landmarks to define the boundary of both sides of liver segments. As the caudate lobe is a small independent unit of the liver separate from the right and left livers, the existence of the boundary hepatic vein to the adjacent liver segments has been expected.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-four adult cadaveric livers were minutely dissected to elucidate the correlation between the portal vein branches and the hepatic veins on both the caudate lobe and the adjacent liver segments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the hepatic veins of the caudate lobe, the caudate processus hepatic vein entering the inferior vena cava at hepatic hilum runs in the segmental plane between the caudate processus and the right liver. Three types of the caudate processus hepatic vein directly entering the inferior vena cava and 1 type of the exceptional hepatic vein that was the tributary of the right hepatic vein were observed. They drained the blood of the caudate processus and a part of the right liver, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The caudate processus hepatic vein is one of the candidates of the hepatic vein indicating the boundary between the caudate lobe and the adjacent liver segments. New procedures will be developed on the liver surgeries by acquiring the anatomic features of this vein.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgical Science, Gunma University, Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan. kogurefm@showa.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kimitaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kogure
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuwano
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yorifuji
authors.forename: Harunori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makuuchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002102:Cadaver; D006503:Hepatic Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000033:anatomy & histology