[Isolated accessory liver (hepar succenturiatum) at the neck of the gallbladder. Case report with review of the literature].

We report on a 34 year-old female patient whose gallbladder was removed because of cholecystolithiasis. On histological examination of the fatty tissue surrounding the neck of the gallbladder an accessory liver was detected. Accessory liver tissue is nearly always an incidental finding at operations and autopsies. It arises in the vicinity of the gallbladder from residual liver cells in the caudal part of the embryonic liver anlage. In the differential diagnosis ectopic liver tissue has to be distinguished from other heterotopic tissues. Accessory livers may also be found in certain other organs and structures which lie in close proximity to the liver during fetal life.