To assess the anatomic relationship between the intrahepatic bile ducts and the correspondion portal veins, we studied the anterior-posterior relationship of the segmental bile ducts to the accopanying portal veins using cadavers and sonograms. The sagittal sections in eleven segments of three cadaveric livers revealed that the bile ducts were anterior to the corresponding portal veins in one segment, posterior in two segments, superior in five segments, anterosuperior in one segment and posterosuperior in two segments. Examining the sonograms of 64 segments in 16 patients with biliary dilatation 34% of the segmental bile ducts lay aneriorly to the corresponding portal veins, 39% lay posteriorly, 2% lay superiorly, 13% were tortuous while 13% remained indetermined. The relationship was inconsistent in terms of hepatic segments and bile ducts lay anteriorly to the protal vein in one segment and posteriorly in another segment within the same liver. We therefore concluded that, contradictory to the common belief, there is no constant anterior-posterior relationship between the intrahepatic bile ducts to the corresponding portal veins.
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