Sonographic demonstration of the aberrant left hepatic artery.
An aberrant left hepatic artery, arising from the left gastric artery, was found running transversely through the lesser omentum into the liver in 10 per cent of a series of 100 consecutive real-time abdominal ultrasound examinations. The characteristic appearance on sagittal scans is of a round vessel in the middle of the normally continuous echogenic line of the groove for the ligamentum venosum anterior to the caudate lobe of the liver; on transverse scans, a vessel is seen in its long axis running from the cardia of the stomach anterior to the lesser sac in the lesser omentum. This typical appearance has not been illustrated previously. Awareness of its significance should avoid mistaken diagnosis of a portosystemic venous collateral or other abnormality.