%0 Journal Article
%T Hepaticocystic duct and a rare extra-hepatic "cruciate" arterial anastomosis: a case report
%A Vasitha Abeysuriya
%A Sujatha Salgado
%A Kemal I Deen
%A Sumudu K Kumarage
%J Journal of Medical Case Reports
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1752-1947-2-37
%X During the dissection of cadavers to study the morphological characteristics of the extra-hepatic biliary system, a 46-year-old male cadaver was found to have drainage of the common hepatic duct drains directly into the gall bladder neck. The right and left hepatic ducts were not seen extra-hepatically. Further drainage of the bile away from the gallbladder and into the duodenum was provided by the cystic duct. Formation of the common bile duct by the union of the common hepatic duct and cystic duct was absent. Further more the right hepatic artery was found to be communicating with the left hepatic artery by a "bridging artery" after giving rise to the cystic artery. An accessory hepatic artery originated from the "bridging artery" forming a "cruciate" hepatic arterial anastomosis.Combination of a Hepaticocystic duct and an aberrant variation in the extra-hepatic arterial system is extremely rare.The variations in the morphological characteristics of the extra-hepatic biliary system are numerous. It has been stated that the extra-hepatic biliary system has more anomalies in one cubic centimeter of the space around the region of the cystic duct than any other part of the body [1,2]. These anomalies add to operative difficulties during cholecystectomy.The incidence of congenital anomalies of the extra-hepatic biliary system varies between 0.58% and 47.2% [3]. Due to the scarcity of studies of this regional anatomy, the exact incidence of all the anomalies of the biliary system is not known but as it has been observed that, vascular anomalies are more frequent than those of the ductal system [2,4]. Anomalies of the extra-hepatic biliary system can arise from the gallbladder, cystic duct, hepatic ducts or the common bile duct as a result of aberrations of normal embryological development. Therefore, it is essential to appreciate the extent of anomalies of the extra-hepatic biliary system.One such rare anomaly is where the right and left hepatic ducts are not seen in th
%U http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/2/1/37