Intrahepatic branching patterns of the right hepatic artery: analysis of anteroposterior and oblique views of the hepatic arteriography with the help of CT scan

With the technical advancement in arterial embolization and subsegmental resection of liver neoplasm, emphasis has been on more detailed knowledge of normal arterial anatomy and its variation. We analysed the patterns of intrahepatic branches of right hepatic artery. We retrospectively analyzed intrahepatic branching patterns of right hepatic artery in 165 cases. All cases had a single right hepatic artery which could be traced up to tertiary branches, and also performed rapid drip infusion CT scan, hepatic arteriography with antero-posterior and oblique views, superior mesenteric arteriorgraphy and indirect portography. Intrahepatic branching patterns of the right hepatic artery had eight types of variation. The most common intrahepatic branching pattern was type I: 107 (64.5%) which represented 5, 8th branch emerging from the anterior segmental artery and 6, 7th branch from the posterior segmental artery. Type VII: 26 (15.8%) was the next common type which represented 6th branch emerging first from the posterior segmental artery and 7th branch emerging secondly from the posterior segmental artery. Type VII, VI, III were branched from the posterior segmental artery. Type IV, II, V were branched from the anterior segmental artery. These result could be helpful to the planning of treatment, such as hepatic subsegmentectomy or transarterial embolization of the hepatic neoplasm