Inferior Phrenic Arteries and Their Branches, Their Anatomy and Possible Clinical Importance: An Experimental Cadaver Study

Background: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is a common treatment for patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma. If the carcinoma is advanced or the main arterial supply, the hepatic artery, is occluded, extrahepatic collateral arteries may develop. Both, right and left inferior phrenic arteries (RIPA and LIPA) are the most frequent and important among these collaterals. However, the topographic anatomy of these arteries has not been described in detail in anatomy textbooks, atlases and most previous reports. Aims: To investigate the anatomy and branching patterns of RIPA and LIPA on cadavers and compare our results with the literature. Study Design: Descriptive study. Methods: We bilaterally dissected 24 male and 2 female cadavers aged between 49 and 88 years for this study. Results: The RIPA and LIPA originated as a common trunk in 5 cadavers. The RIPA originated from the abdominal aorta in 13 sides, the renal artery in 2 sides, the coeliac trunk in 1 side and the left gastric artery in 1 side. The LIPA originated from the abdominal aorta in 9 sides and the coeliac trunk in 6 sides. In 6 cadavers, the ascending and posterior branches of the LIPA had different sources of origin. Conclusion: As both the RIPA and LIPA represent the half of all extrahepatic arterial collaterals to hepatocellular carcinomas, their anatomy gains importance not only for anatomists but interventional radiologists as well