title: Morphology and morphometry of the caudate lobe of the liver in two populations.
abstract: The caudate lobe of the liver has portal blood supply and hepatic vein drainage independent of the remainder of the liver and may be differentially affected in liver pathologies. Ultrasonographic measurement of the caudate lobe can be used to generate hepatic indices that may indicate cirrhosis. This study investigated the relationship of metrics of the caudate lobe and other morphological features of human livers from a northwest Indian Punjabi population (n = 50) and a UK Caucasian population (n = 25), which may affect the calculation of hepatic indices. The width of the right lobe of the liver was significantly smaller, while the anteroposterior diameter of the caudate lobe and both Harbin's Index and the Hess Index scores were significantly larger in NWI livers than in UKC livers. The Hess Index score, in particular, is much larger in the NWI population (265 %, p < 0.005). Two caudate lobe features were significantly different between the two populations-the shape of the caudate lobe and the development of the caudate process. This study shows significant population differences exist in several metrics and morphological features of the liver. These differences may affect the calculation of hepatic indices, resulting in a greater percentage of false positives of cirrhosis in the NWI population. Population-specific data are required to correctly determine normal ranges.
authors: Biomedical Sciences, King's College, London, London, United Kingdom. mandeep.gill@kcl.ac.uk.|Government Medical College, Amritsar, India. mandeep.gill@kcl.ac.uk.|St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom. mandeep.gill@kcl.ac.uk.
authors: Mandeep Gill
authors: MG
authors: Sagoo
authors: School of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, Australia.|St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors: R Claire
authors: RC
authors: Aland
authors: Research Methods Group, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors: Edward
authors: E
authors: Gosden
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000073537:Biological Variation, Population; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008099:Liver / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D014463:Ultrasonography; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Caudate lobe; Caudate process; Cirrhosis; Hepatic index; Liver; Papillary process