Normal anatomy

The liver is the largest of the parenchymal organs, and weighs approximately 1500 grams. It is situated in the upper right hypochondrium and extends from the right flank across the midline. It may reach as far left as the spleen. Superiorly the liver abuts the diaphragm and in the sagittal direction it extends from the ventral to the dorsal abdominal wall. The liver is divided into a right and left lobe, and for surgical purposes the border between these, which is not seen on the anatomical liver surface, extends obliquely from the gallbladder fossa to the vena cava in the plane of the middle hepatic vein. The caudate lobe is usually considered as a separate entity and is situated between the inferior vena cava and the portal vein at the liver hilum.

Figure 4. US of the liver. There is a subcapsular lesion 2 cm in diameter within the liver parenchyma (between arrows). This lesion is well demarcated from the parenchyma. The echogenicity of this entity, a rounded tumour, is clearly higher than that of the surrounding liver parenchyma. This finding is consistent with the diagnosis of haemangioma of the liver.

David J. Allison and Carl-Gustaf Standertskjold-Nordenstam