Mapping of Cavernous Vessels in the Liver in an Autopsy Case of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Comparison with Imaging Figures

Cavernous vessels in the liver have been rarely described in the liver with hepatocellular carcinoma. We report the morphology and distribution of cavernous vessels in an autopsy liver of hepatocellular carcinoma, using a whole liver slice. In this case, antemortem angiography disclosed obstruction of portal veins at the hepatic hilus and portal trunk as well as many hepatopetal collaterals, mainly at the hepatic hilus. Tumor thrombi were diffusely distributed in the liver from the portal trunk to peripheral portal branches at autopsy. The cavernous vessels, which were positive for Factor VIII-related antigen, were also distributed throughout the liver from the hepatic hilus to the subcapsular regions, especially around the occluded portal veins by hepatocellular carcinoma, suggesting that these vessels were collaterals that developed as the result of portal obstruction. This study suggests that these vessels might be present from the hepatic hilus to the subcapsular regions, even if antemortem imaging techniques disclose collateral vessels only at the hepatic hilus.