[Anatomy of intrahepatic portal branches visualized by three-dimensional imaging analysis of CT arterial portography].
The purpose of this study was to clarify variations in intrahepatic portal branches by means of CT imaging procedures. The subjects were 73 patients, 59 men and 14 women, who ranged in age from 41 to 76 years, with a mean of 63 years. The procedures were as follows. The entire liver was scanned using helical CT during the portal and hepatic venous phases, and 3D images of the portal vein were reconstructed with the volume-rendering technique and the region-growing method. The CT unit was a HITACHI W2000, and the imaging analyzer a Sun Ultra 1. We found that the branching patterns of both the anterior (P5 and P8) and posterior segmental branches (P6 and P7) of the right lobe of the liver could be classified into four types. The caudate branch (P1) and left lateral segmental branches (P2 and P3) were classified into three types, and the interior segmental branch of the left lobe (P4) was classified into two types. The frequency of each pattern was also revealed. These branching types and their frequencies were generally the same as those described in previous reports. Thus, the portal anatomy visualized by these methods indicates that they could be very useful for preoperative examinations or IVR.