Hepatectomies in the rat: A look at the caudate process through microsurgery.

Hepatectomies in the rat can be improved using microsurgical techniques. The distribution variations of the vascular and biliar lobular branches of the liver are observed under magnification with an operative microscope and, therefore their dissection, ligation and section are more accurate. The vascularization and bile drainage of the caudate process, a liver sector located between the right lateral and the caudate lobes, can be identified using microsurgery. The viability of the animal's evolution after different types (90%, 95%, 97%) of subtotal hepatectomies depends on an effective identification of these vascular and biliary branches.