PURPOSE: The aim of this article is to sudy the functional anatomy of the liver and its segmentation, based on vascular (venous) structures in the parenquima. METHODS: Liver dissection in recent cadavers, identifying the portal pedicles and hepatic veins, which define the liver segments or its functional units. RESULTS: Anatomic caracterization of the eight liver segments, its afferent and efferent vascular structures, in order to guide anatomical resections that preserve the function and irrigation of the remaining segments. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of functional anatomy of the liver, based on its segmentation, is the basis of the modern hepatic surgery.
Functional anatomy; Hepatic segmentation; Liver
