Gross anatomy of the canine portal vein

The gross anatomy of the portal vein of 21 dogs was studied by venous portography, corrosion casting, and gross dissection. The portal vein in all specimens originated by confluence of the cranial and caudal mesenteric veins. Its large tributaries were the splenic and gastroduodenal veins, which entered the portal vein between its origin and the hepatic porta. At the hepatic porta, the portal vein divided into a short right branch and a larger left branch. The right branch ramified in the caudate process of the caudate lobe and in the right lateral lobe of the liver. The left branch was essentially the continuation of the portal vein from which successive branches passed to each of the remaining lobes of the liver and the papillary process of the caudate lobe.