Anatomical and Physiological Evidence of Anastomosis of the Hepatic Artery and Hepatic Vein within the Mammalian Liver

Abstract

THAT the hepatic artery sends direct branches to the hepatic vein in the livers of Amphibia has been established¹. Several workers have reported trans-lobular branches in mammalian livers; but the evidence is frequently indirect. Chronszczewsky², Braus³ and Loeffler claim to have seen such a vessel; Elias⁴ is a protagonist of the view of Chronszczewsky, whose work he has repeated; he also reports that the arterial blood gains the centre of the lobule via thin-walled capillaries which run in close apposition to the parenchyma. Seneviratne⁵, using a trans-illumination technique, also supports the existence of translobular arterial vessels. Owing to technical difficulties these arterial vessels have not been shown convincingly, and their presence is not yet generally accepted.