Branching patterns of the hepatic artery in the dog: arteriographic and anatomic study.

Eleven arteriograms, 7 corrosion casts, and 40 dissection studies of 51 clinically normal dogs were examined for the branching patterns of the hepatic artery. An injection of radiopaque medium for selective arteriography was made initially to radiograph the celiac artery, after which a technique defined as superselective arteriography was done, advancing a catheter tip into the hepatic artery. Superselective arteriograms for study of the hepatic artery are described, and the anatomic variants of its branching are discussed. Three major types of hepatic artery branching patterns were identified. The first consists of a single hepatic artery trunk, and this pattern was found in four dogs. The second type with two separate branches of the hepatic artery was found in 27 dogs. The third type was seen in 20 dogs and consisted of 3, 4, or 5 branches that originated directly from the hepatic artery. The origin of the right gastric artery varied, as did the branching of the celiac artery. The most common termination of the celiac artery was as two branches in 31 dogs, and these branches were the hepatic artery and a gastrosplenic trunk. The gastrosplenic trunk subsequently divided to form the left gastric artery and the splenic artery. The usual description of the celiac artery is that it ends by trifurcating. A scheme was developed in which the three major types of hepatic artery branching patterns were outlined. This scheme encompases the hepatic lobar artery variants and can serve as a basis for interpretation of detailed hepatic arteriograms.