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Anatomy of hepatic arteriolo‐portal venular shunts evaluated by 3D micro‐ CT imaging
Author(s) -
Kline Timothy L.,
Knudsen Bruce E.,
Anderson Jill L.,
Vercnocke Andrew J.,
Jorgensen Steven M.,
Ritman Erik L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1469-7580
pISSN - 0021-8782
DOI - 10.1111/joa.12178
Subject(s) - portal vein , medicine , right gastric vein , artery , vein , anatomy , hepatic portal vein , fibrous capsule of glisson , portal venous pressure , radiology , pathology , portal hypertension , cirrhosis
Abstract The liver differs from other organs in that two vascular systems deliver its blood – the hepatic artery and the portal vein. However, how the two systems interact is not fully understood. We therefore studied the microvascular geometry of rat liver hepatic artery and portal vein injected with the contrast polymer Microfil ® . Intact isolated rat livers were imaged by micro‐ CT and anatomic evidence for hepatic arteriolo‐portal venular shunts occurring between hepatic artery and portal vein branches was found. Simulations were performed to rule out the possibility of the observed shunts being artifacts resulting from image blurring. In addition, in the case of specimens where only the portal vein was injected, only the portal vein was opacified, whereas in hepatic artery injections, both the hepatic artery and portal vein were opacified. We conclude that mixing of the hepatic artery and portal vein blood can occur proximal to the sinusoidal level, and that the hepatic arteriolo‐portal venular shunts may function as a one‐way valve‐like mechanism, allowing flow only from the hepatic artery to the portal vein (and not the other way around).