Computed tomographic anatomy of hepatic artery in normal beagle dogs

Kim, Soochan; Jeong, Seongmok; Lee, Heechun; Lee, Youngwon; Choi, Hojung

doi:2019.59.2.55

Korean J Vet Res > Volume 59(2); 2019 > Article

Original Article

Korean Journal of Veterinary Research 2019;59(2):55-58.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14405/kjvr.2019.59.2.55 Published online July 15, 2019.

Computed tomographic anatomy of hepatic artery in normal beagle dogs

Soochan Kim¹, Seongmok Jeong¹, Heechun Lee², Youngwon Lee¹, Hojung Choi¹

¹College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University
²College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute of Life Sciences, Gyeongsang National University

Correspondence: Hojung Choi, Tel: 82-42-821-6770, Fax: 82-42-821-6703,
Email: hjchoi@cnu.ac.kr

Abstract

This study was performed to examine the visualization and anatomical variants of the hepatic artery with dual-phase computed tomography (CT) angiography and three-dimensional volume rendering imaging analysis in clinically normal dogs. Seven healthy beagle dogs were enrolled and underwent dual CT angiography. Arterial phase images could be obtained with multi-detector CT angiography using the fixed-scan method in these dogs. Contrast enhancement of the hepatic parenchyma was quite minimal because of the unique blood supply system of the liver. In most dogs, the main hepatic arterial branches were the right lateral branch, left branch, and right medial branch. Although hepatic arterial variation appears to be common in dogs, only one dog in this study had the caudate lobar branch as the first branch of the hepatic artery. Further study on a larger number of dogs with CT images will be needed to identify and classify the pattern of hepatic arterial variations.

Key Words: hepatic artery, dog, computed tomography