Variations of hepatic artery: anatomical study on cadavers.

OBJECTIVES to demonstrate the minutiae of hepatic arterial system, the incidence of anatomical variations and to compare data obtained from the literature, thus contributing with students and professionals working in this area. METHODS We prepared 45 corpses at the Department of Anatomy of the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, between July 2010 and April 2011, of which group 30 displayed integrity of structures. We analyzed the anatomical variations of the hepatic arteries, their main characteristics, such as origin, course, length and diameter. The overall result was expressed as frequency and percentage of cadavers with anatomic variations of the hepatic arterial system. The estimative of this percentage was done by constructing a confidence interval of 95%. RESULTS There was some kind of anatomical variation in 40% (n = 12) of cadavers. We found 02 variations in the common hepatic artery, 03 in the gastroduodenal artery, 03 in the right hepatic artery, 01 in the left hepatic artery, 01 in the right gastric artery, and 02 in cystic artery. As for the celiac artery, there were variations in length, diameter and height in its origin, which was common on the aorta. The variation of right hepatic artery originating from the superior mesenteric artery was found in 10% (n = 3) of the specimens studied and it was considered the most prevalent type of variation in this study. CONCLUSION Changes in hepatic arteries are frequently found and in this study their incidence was 40%, similar to the literature. The most significant change, observed in 10% (3 cases), was the right hepatic artery with its origin in the superior mesenteric artery.