human anatomy Human anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, "dissection", from ἀνά, "up", and τέμνειν, "cut") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross ...

, the Cantlie line or Cantlie's line is an imaginary division of the

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

. The division divides the liver into two planes, extending from the middle

hepatic vein In human anatomy, the hepatic veins are the veins that drain venous blood from the liver into the inferior vena cava (as opposed to the hepatic portal vein which conveys blood from the gastrointestinal organs to the liver). There are usually thre ...

to the middle of the

gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath t ...

. It is useful for performing hepatectomies.

Structure

The division divides the liver into two planes. It extends from the middle

(or the

inferior vena cava The inferior vena cava is a large vein that carries the deoxygenated blood from the lower and middle body into the right atrium of the heart. It is formed by the joining of the right and the left common iliac veins, usually at the level of the ...

) to the middle of the

. Using Couinaud's classification system, segments two, three, and both parts of four are on the left side of the division, while segments five, six, seven, and eight are on the right.

Clinical significance

Cantlie's line is useful when performing hepatectomies.

History

It was first described by Scottish surgeon James Cantlie in 1887 when he noticed a difference in the amount of

atrophy Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), malnutrition, poor nourishment, poor circulatory system, circulation, loss of hormone, ...

on both sides of this line of the liver while performing an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

. He concluded that the line dividing the atrophied segment from the hypertrophied segment must be the true midline of the liver. This opposed the more commonly accepted opinion that the umbilical fissure divided the liver. The

portal vein The portal vein or hepatic portal vein (HPV) is a blood vessel that carries blood from the gastrointestinal tract, gallbladder, pancreas and spleen to the liver. This blood contains nutrients and toxins extracted from digested contents. Approxima ...

was already known to divide near the porta hepatis, as described by Francis Glisson in ''Anatomia hepatis'', but Cantlie was the first to propose that the liver could be functionally divided into separate, distinct left and right halves. This was confirmed later in experiments done by Rous and Larimore in 1920 and by Schalm in 1956. Though this discovery was made in 1897, the first clinical portal vein occlusions did not occur until 1982.

References

{{Digestive glands Liver