Inferior Phrenic Arteries and Their Branches, Their Anatomy and Possible Clinical Importance: An Experimental Cadaver Study

Abstract

Background: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is a common treatment for patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma. If the carcinoma is advanced or the main arterial supply, the hepatic artery, is occluded, extrahepatic collateral arteries may develop. Both, right and left inferior phrenic arteries (RIPA and LIPA) are the most frequent and important among these collaterals. However, the topographic anatomy of these arteries has not been described in detail in anatomy textbooks, atlases and most previous reports.