Are Hepatic Portal Venous System Components Distributed Equally in the Liver? A Multidetector Computerized Tomography Study

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the relationships between the splenic index, right and left hepatic lobe volumes, diameters of splenic vein (SV), superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and the portal vein (PV) by Multidetector Computerized Tomography (MDCT). We also investigated indirect signs of portal venous flow pattern using these parameters.Material and Methods: Following their contrast thoracoabdominal and abdominal 64-MDCT examinations, the images of 100 cases (61 males and 39 females) were evaluated retrospectively. For each case, the splenic index, total hepatic volume, left and right hepatic volumes were calculated on the post-contrast portal venous phase (50th sec) images. Spearman correlation tests were carried out with the purpose of determining the relationships between the variables. Statistical significance level was set at p<0.005.Results: A statistically significant relation was demonstrated between the diameter of the SMV and right hepatic lobe volume (p