Postmortem examination of the blood supply and vascular pattern of small liver metastases in man

Thirteen human cadavers with liver metastases were examined. Microfil was injected into the portal vein and hepatic artery. The liver metastases were examined under dissecting microscope, and their vascular supply and patterns were registered. It was found that most metastases had both arterial and portal supply even if the arterial supply dominated. Extensive filling of tumor vessels was observed in both lobes in one liver in which the portal vein of one lobe and the hepatic artery of the other was injected (i.e., the same kind of metastases could be filled from either the hepatic artery or the portal vein). It is suggested that the findings could be of great importance in planning treatment of patients with liver metastases.