Caudate lobe of liver

Caudate lobe of liver
Posterior and inferior surfaces of the liver. (Caudate lobe visible at center top.)
1: Right lobe of liver 2: Left lobe of liver 3: Quadrate lobe of liver 4: Round ligament of liver 5: Falciform ligament 6: Caudate lobe of liver 7: Inferior vena cava 8: Common bile duct 9: Hepatic artery 10: Portal vein 11: Cystic duct 12: Hepatic duct 13: Gallbladder
Latin	segment hepatis posterius I, lobus caudatus
Gray's	subject #250 1192

The caudate lobe (posterior hepatic segment I, Spigelian lobe) is situated upon the posterior surface of the right lobe of the liver, opposite the tenth and eleventh thoracic vertebrae.

It is bounded, below, by the porta; on the right, by the fossa for the inferior vena cava; and, on the left, by the fossa for the ductus venosus.

It looks backward, being nearly vertical in position; it is longer from above downward than from side to side, and is somewhat concave in the transverse direction.

The caudate process is a small elevation of the hepatic substance extending obliquely lateralward, from the lower extremity of the caudate lobe to the under surface of the right lobe.

It is situated behind the porta, and separates the fossa for the gall-bladder from the commencement of the fossa for the inferior vena cava.

Additional images

• 

  The celiac artery and its branches; the liver has been raised, and the lesser omentum and anterior layer of the greater omentum removed.

• 

  The superior surface of the liver.

• 

  Inferior surface of the liver.

External links

• posterior+hepatic+segment+I at eMedicine Dictionary
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 12581.000-1
• SUNY Labs 38:12-0201 - "The Visceral Surface of the Liver"
• Cross section at UV pembody/body8a

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.