Variations in the ramification of the aberrant right hepatic artery.

The origin and the ramification of the celiac trunk and its branches are commonly as follows. The celiac trunk has the three branches; the common hepatic, the splenic and the left gastric artery. The common hepatic artery divides into the gastroduodenal and the proper hepatic artery which has the right hepatic, the left hepatic and the cystic artery. Although variations in the ramification of the celiac trunk have attracted many anatomists as well as many surgeons, there have been a few reports on the ramification of the aberrant right hepatic artery (Adachi, 1928; Michels, 1953). Adachi described and classified the ramification of the aberrant right hepatic artery by using 252 Japanese subjects and also described that the occurrence of the aberrant right hepatic arteries divided from the superior mesenteric artery was 11 of 252 cadevers (Adachi, 1928). Michels reported the aberrant right hepatic artery of 52 bodies among 200 subjects and the most frequent source (in 32 of 52 bodies) was the superior mesenteric artery (Michels, 1973). Further, Basmajian described that the percentage frequency of the aberrant right hepatic arteries divided from the superior mesenteric arteries was 12% in 165 specimens (Basmajian, 1980). In this paper the variations of the ramification of the aberrant right hepatic artery will be described, discussed and corresponded to the types of the Adachi's classification.