Portal vein normal anatomy and variants: implication for liver surgery and portal vein embolization

The normal anatomy of the portal vein is defined as a division of the main portal vein into two branches-the left (supplying segments II, III, and IV) and right portal veins; the right dividing secondarily into two branches-the anterior (supplying segments V and VIII) and the posterior (supplying segments VI and VII) portal veins. Variants are frequent and account for 20 to 35% of the population. The most frequent variants are portal trifurcation with division of the main portal vein into the left, right anterior, and posterior branches, and the early origin of the right posterior branch directly from the portal vein. The presence of portal vein variants increases the risk of bile duct hilar anatomical variation. These variants must be diagnosed before complex hepatectomy, split or living donor transplantation, and before complex interventional procedures such as portal vein embolization. The purpose of this article is to review normal and variant portal venous anatomy and their implications for liver surgery and preoperative portal vein embolization.