The arterial blood supply of extrahepatic bile ducts of the donor liver

: The discussion of the etiopathogenesis of biliary complications after orthotopic liver transplantation have always encountered the problem of the status of a limited or interrupted blood supply of the ductus hepatocholedochus in the liver graft. For the description of the arterial vascular anatomy of the common bile duct 40 liver specimen were postmortem explanted and injection replica were made using corrosion technique. The arterial structures were systematically analysed and classified on the basis of their origin, distribution, calibre and combination. As a result, two types of arterial blood supply were defined and conclusions drawn for the surgical dissection during hepatectomy of the graft.