Comparative anatomical study of liver segmentation in local pigs and humans in Cotonou, Benin

Abstract

Background: Pigs used as anatomical models in practical work are usually exotic specimens and differ from local pigs. In this study, however, we used the local pig for our practical work and surgical practice in the anatomical laboratory, as there are no human postmortem specimens, and the exotic pig is costly.

Aim: The study purports to compare the segmentation of the liver of the local pig (sus scrofa domesticus) with data from the literature on the segmentation of human liver, with the intention of potentially using it as an anatomical model for the human liver.

Materials and Methods: This was an experimental and descriptive study including 20 fresh livers collected from locally bred pigs slaughtered in abattoirs. After vascular lavage, an injection of blue-dyed latex was used to study the hepatic veins and portal vein, followed by corrosion. The description of hepatic and portal segmentations was then deduced from the distributions of the segmental branches of the hepatic veins and portal vein.

Results: The study revealed that the livers of local pigs have four lobes drained by four hepatic veins: right, left, right median, and left median. The portal vein divides into two right and left branches. The right branch in turn divides into three segmental branches, while the left branch gives rise to five segmental branches. Hepatic and portal segmentations based on the segmental branches enable the identification of eight segments, as is the case in humans.

Conclusion: Livers of local pigs may be used as experimental models given that their segmentation is comparable to that of humans.