Anomalies of the liver and pancreas

Liver. Variations in both the ducts and blood vessels often occur at the porta hepatis. These variations usually have no impact on liver function but it is very important to know about them for surgical reasons. In rare cases, the gall bladder may be missing, rudimentarily developed, or there may be two of them. The cystic duct can be atretic or duplicated. Both extra- and intrahepatic biliary ducts initially go through a stage in which they have no lumen. If they fail to canalize, the result is biliary duct atresia. However, atresia may also result from inflammatory processes.
Pancreas. Pancreatic tissue can occur in abnormal locations within the digestive canal. Dorsal and ventral parts of the pancreatic tissue can come to encircle the duodenum (annular pancreas); in severe cases, the duodenum may become completely constricted. The cause of this condition is still unclear. In cystic fibrosis (mucoviscidosis), the pancreas in particular is affected. This condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner and the transport of chloride is impaired. Exocrine secretions become more viscous, causing obstruction of both the pancreatic and hepatic ducts. The impaired transport of chloride causes bronchial mucus to thicken in the lungs, resulting in chronic bronchitis, pneumonia and bronchiectasia.