Surgical anatomy of the liver

Abstract

The exterior morphology of the liver and the intrahepatic ramifications of its vasculature has been a subject for study throughout the ages. From historical data, which Stieda refers to, images of the liver come into light during the Babylonian era, i.e., 4-5000 B.C. [1]. One of the first reports concerning the study of the liver and its vessels anatomy is the monograph of Glisson in 1654 [2]. Through his famous Tables, Glisson was able to depict the course and the arrangement of the vessels of the liver (fig. 2. l b, 2. lc). We should not forget that his work constitutes the basic preliminary study on which our further knowledge has been supported on the anatomy of the liver. Since then, lots of works have been published, mainly referring to the Glissonian system. Hyrtl (1873), Rex (1888), Goldsmith and Woodburn (1957), Hjortsjo (1948-1956), Elias and Petty (1952), Healey and Schroy (1954), Gans (1955) and Couinaud (1953-1957) are some of the people that have advanced our knowledge on the liver anatomy [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]. © 2006 Springer-Verlag/Wien.