Topography
Its convex diaphragmatic surface fits the dome of the diaphragm; its concave visceral surface contacts the stomach on the left, the duodenum and pancreas on the right, and the right kidney, which sits in the renal impression of the caudate process. The caudal vena cava runs along its dorsal border, and the portal vein, hepatic artery and bile duct enter and leave at the hilus (porta hepatis).
Lobes and biliary tract
- Left lateral and left medial lobes.
- Quadrate lobe, between the medial lobes.
- Right medial and right lateral lobes.
- Caudate lobe, with the papillary and caudate processes.
- Gallbladder (vesica fellea): in a fossa between the quadrate and right medial lobes. Bilobed or double gallbladders are congenital anomalies seen more often in the cat than in other domestic species and are usually of no clinical importance.
- Bile duct (ductus choledochus): in the cat it joins the main pancreatic duct before opening at the major duodenal papilla, so bile and pancreatic juice share the final segment.
Clinical relevance
- Hepatic lipidosis: the most common liver disease of the cat. It develops when a cat, often obese, stops eating for several days; it causes jaundice and an enlarged, hyperechoic liver. Treatment is assisted feeding, usually through an esophagostomy tube.
- Cholangitis and triaditis: the common opening of the bile and pancreatic ducts makes it easier for inflammation to involve the biliary tract, pancreas and small intestine together.
- Feline infectious peritonitis: pyogranulomas on the liver surface and, in the effusive form, protein-rich ascites.
- Portosystemic shunts: microhepatica, ptyalism and neurological signs after meals.
- Drug metabolism: the cat has a very limited capacity for glucuronidation, so paracetamol is toxic and other drugs need adjusted doses or intervals.
3D model
Segmentation from the CT of a cat (pixelbeaker model), simplified and registered to the atlas skeleton.