ABSTRACT
The liver is divided into two lobes along a plane from the inferior vena cava posteriorly to the gallbladder fossa anteroinferiorly (Cantlie’s line); the plane defined by the middle hepatic vein demarcates the division of the lobes. The umbilical fissure, lying to the left of Cantlie’s line, marks the point of attachment of the ligamentum teres that continues into the falciform ligament anteriorly. The widely accepted numbering system of Couinaud (1), that divides the liver into functional segments on the basis of hepatic venous drainage, is the most useful classification. The three main hepatic veins divide the liver into four sectors, and each of these sectors receives its blood supply from independent portal pedicles. The sectors are further subdivided into segments, each supplied by a branch from a portal pedicle.
