Beaver Tail Liver: A Rare Anatomic Variant.

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Anatomical Variants
• Hepatic Imaging

Background:

• Beaver tail liver is a rare hepatic anatomical variant.
• The left hepatic lobe extends into the left upper quadrant, surrounding the spleen.
• This variant typically presents normal hepatic parenchyma without functional impairment.

Observation:

• The case involved a 67-year-old male admitted for evaluation.
• Initial CT angiography raised concerns for liver malignancy.
• Abdominal MRI ruled out malignancy, leading to the incidental discovery of beaver tail liver.

Findings:

• Beaver tail liver can be misdiagnosed as splenic injury or mass on ultrasound and CT due to similar echogenicity.
• This variant is often an incidental finding.
• Limited literature exists, primarily case reports.

Implications:

• Awareness of beaver tail liver is crucial for emergency medicine physicians, surgeons, and radiologists.
• Misinterpretation can occur in trauma assessments like FAST exams and CT scans.
• Non-invasive tools like color Doppler can aid in accurate diagnosis of hepatic variants.