Abdominal Cavity Part 3

Question 1

Liver

Answer 1

-largest gland in the body

Function

• bile -stored in gallbladder
• carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism
• inactivating hormones
• detoxifying foreign substances and therapeutic agents

Size and weight

• depends on body weight and age (2-3% of body weight)
• great variation in size between individuals
• old age shows atrophy

Question 2

Location of Liver

Answer 2

• left and right cranial quadrant, behind the diaphragm
• Right lateral lobe and the caudate process abut the right kidney
• Not palpable in a healthy adult dog

Question 3

When performing a liver biopsy, where should it be done?

Answer 3

Left of the xiphoid process to avoid hitting the gallbladder

Many biopsies are ultrasound guided now

Question 4

Coronary ligament of liver

Answer 4

• surrounds caudal vena cava

- connects triangular ligaments to the falciform ligament

Question 5

Triangular ligaments of liver

Answer 5

Right - right lateral lobe to right crus of the diaphragm

Left - left lateral lobe to left crus of the diaphragm

Question 6

Hepatorenal ligament of liver

Answer 6

caudate process of caudate lobe to right kidney (cranial pole)

Question 7

Gallbladder

Answer 7

Location
-quadrate and right medial lobe on the visceral surface

-stores bile temporarily

Parts

• fundus
• body
• neck

Question 8

Pancreas

Answer 8

Left Lobe (tail or left limb or dorsal)

• in deep leaf of greater omentum
• shorter and thciker
• most common site for biopsy

Body
-central part, which unites the two lobes

Right Lobe (Head or right or right limb or ventral)

• in the descending mesoduodenum
• follows the descending duodenum until the caudal duodenal flexure

Question 9

Pancreatic Duct

Answer 9

• smaller duct in the dog (feline -larger)
• drains right lobe and the left lobe of the pancreas (usually)
• opens into major duodenal papilla with the bile duct

Question 10

Accessory Pancreatic Duct

Answer 10

• larger duct in the dog (feline - present only 20%)
• drains left lobe and the right lobe of the pancreas (usually)
• opens into the minor duodenal papilla

Question 11

Spleen

Answer 11

• left cranial and left caudal quadrants (if small only in the left cranial)
• tongue shaped (+/-)

Question 12

Surfaces of Spleen

Answer 12

• parietal = faces the diaphragm, and lateral abdominal wall (left)
• visceral = faces the stomach and the intestines

Question 13

Hilus of the Spleen

Answer 13

• visceral surface

- branches of the splenic artery and the vein

Question 14

Abdominal Aorta

Answer 14

• abdominal portion of the descending aorta
• cranially lies in the median plane, between the crura of the diaphragm
• caudally displaced slightly to the left by the Caudal Vena Cava
• terminates (L7) as right and left internal iliac artery and median sacral artery

Question 15

Unpaired Visceral Branches

Answer 15

• supply GI tract
• celiac artery
• cranial mesenteric artery
• caudal mesenteric artery

Question 16

Paired Visceral Branches

Answer 16

• supply urogenital
• renal arteries
• testicular or ovarian arteries

Question 17

How many lumbar segmental arteries are there?

Answer 17

5 pairs of them

Question 18

Portosystemic Shunts (PSS)

Answer 18

• anomalous vessels that allow normal portal blood draining the stomach, intestines, pancreas, and spleen to pass directly into systemic system
• goes through an abnormal connection to caudal vena cava or other systemic veins, without first passing through the liver
• allows blood to return to systemic circulation without passing through the liver to be metabolized and detoxified