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The left triangular ligament of the liver was studied in 42 Chinese adult male cadavers and 50 Canadian adult cadavers. The free edge of the left triangular ligament was examined histologically in 37 of the Chinese and all 50 of the Canadian cadavers. The average length of the left triangular ligament in the 42 Chinese was 13.9 cm and 11.5 cm in the 50 Canadian. The Canadian sample was composed of 24 adult female cadavers with an average length of 10.7 cm and of 26 adult male cadavers with an average length of 12.3 cm. In a previous study (1980) of 58 Chinese adult male cadavers, the average length of the left triangular ligament was 12.7 cm. This resulted in an average length of 13.2 cm for the 100 Chinese cadavers. These findings greatly exceed the lengths given in the textbooks, and there is no significant difference between the male Chinese and Canadian cadavers. It was found that almost all the left triangular ligaments were attached to the superior surface of the left lobe of the liver. The left suprahepatic space was subdivided by this ligament into anterior and posterior spaces. Each of the left triangular ligaments had a long free edge which extended from the lateral extremity of the left lobe of the liver to the diaphragm. Histological examination of the free edges revealed the presence of blood vessels in all of the 37 Chinese suitable for study and the 50 Canadian cadavers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)