(2.47)
Now we'll take a further look at the part of the liver that faces backwards and downwards. We'll take another look at the structures we've mentioned already. This huge vessel is the inferior vena cava. It's almost enveloped by the liver. Up here the hepatic veins enter it, as we'll see.
Here on the underside of the liver is the gall bladder, which we saw briefly from in front. We'll take a closer look at it in a minute. This busy area above the gallbladder is the porta hepatis, where the portal vein and hepatic artery enter the liver and the hepatic ducts leave it.
To see where the hepatic veins leave the liver, we'll remove the inferior vena cava. Up here, just below the diaphragm, two or three large hepatic veins emerge from the liver and join the inferior vena cava. Further down, numerous smaller hepatic veins also join the inferior vena cava.
The posterior surface of the liver is indented from top to bottom by this deep vertical groove, which ends down here at the hepatic notch. The lower part of the groove is formed by the ligamentum teres, which we've seen from in front. The upper part of the groove is formed by a continuation of the same cord-like structure, the ligamentum venosum.
These two cords are remnants of the umbilical vein, and ductus venosus. The porta hepatis lies just to the right of the middle part of the vertical groove. The part of the liver to the left of the vertical groove is referred to as the left lobe.
The large area to the right of the groove is subdivided into three named areas, the large right lobe, the quadrate lobe between the groove and the gallbladder (here's the quadrate lobe from in front) and ...
(2.47)
Now we'll take a further look at the part of the liver that faces backwards and downwards. We'll take another look at the structures we've mentioned already. This huge vessel is the inferior vena cava. It's almost enveloped by the liver. Up here the hepatic veins enter it, as we'll see.
Here on the underside of the liver is the gall bladder, which we saw briefly from in front. We'll take a closer look at it in a minute. This busy area above the gallbladder is the porta hepatis, where the portal vein and hepatic artery enter the liver and the hepatic ducts leave it.
To see where the hepatic veins leave the liver, we'll remove the inferior vena cava. Up here, just below the diaphragm, two or three large hepatic veins emerge from the liver and join the inferior vena cava. Further down, numerous smaller hepatic veins also join the inferior vena cava.
The posterior surface of the liver is indented from top to bottom by this deep vertical groove, which ends down here at the hepatic notch. The lower part of the groove is formed by the ligamentum teres, which we've seen from in front. The upper part of the groove is formed by a continuation of the same cord-like structure, the ligamentum venosum.
These two cords are remnants of the umbilical vein, and ductus venosus. The porta hepatis lies just to the right of the middle part of the vertical groove. The part of the liver to the left of the vertical groove is referred to as the left lobe.
The large area to the right of the groove is subdivided into three named areas, the large right lobe, the quadrate lobe between the groove and the gallbladder (here's the quadrate lobe from in front) and this irregularly shaped portion between the groove and the vena cava, the caudate lobe. (More often, the caudate lobe is shaped like this.) In front, the division between the right and left lobes is the line of attachment of the falciform ligament
These named lobes are only surface features that have no functional significance. We'll look in more detail at the gallbladder and bile duct system in just a minute, but first we need to look at the pancreas, which is closely related to the bile duct.