Anatomical Study of Bile Ducts by Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography

Objective: A variety of anatomical variations in the intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts (BD) may cause different problems during surgical intervention. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and types of anatomical variations in BD in normal patients. Methods: The present study evaluated magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) images of 303 patients (146 men, 157 women). The objective of this study was to evaluate variations in the intrahepatic and extrahepatic BD and anatomical variations in the gallbladder. The biliary confluence angle, diameter of the common BD prior to its union with the pancreatic duct, diameter of the duct formed by their junction, and length of the short cystic duct (CD) were also evaluated. Results: In this study, anomaly of the right posterior duct opening to the left hepatic duct (HD) was found in 12 cases (4%), trifurcation variation in 26 cases (8.6%), and abnormal variation of the aberrant right HD opening to the common HD in 15 cases (5%). Corresponding to the CD, a long CD variation was found in 20 cases (6.6%) and a short cystic channel variation in 7 cases (2.3%). In addition, a negative correlation was found between age and angle of confluence. A significant correlation was found between long CD variation and stone formation. Conclusion: Anatomic investigation of the BD using the non-invasive MRCP technique and the definition of variations are of great importance in terms of assisting surgical planning, minimizing the likelihood of complications during operations, and facilitating transplantation surgery.