Where it is
Immediately caudal to the diaphragm, entirely within the costal arch.
- Layer
- Organs
- System
- Digestive system
- Region
- Abdomen
What it is and what it does
The liver lies against the caudal face of the diaphragm and, in the healthy dog, sits entirely within the costal arch. Its caudal border reaches the spleen on the left and the stomach in the center, and the right kidney lies in the renal fossa of the caudate lobe. It has right medial and lateral, quadrate, left medial and lateral, and caudate lobes; the gallbladder is on the right.
The size of the liver is judged on a radiograph from the position of the stomach (the gastric axis) relative to the costal arch.
Worth remembering
Its rear border reaches the spleen on the left and the stomach in the middle.
Names
- Latin term: hepar.
- In Romanian: Ficatul (Romanian page).
In the atlas lessons
The organs: where they sit, from neck to pelvis (5 min):
The cranial abdomen: the liver lies against the diaphragm, within the costal arch; the stomach comes immediately caudal to it, on the left, and the spleen accompanies it along the greater curvature, on the left wall.
Questions from the atlas
"Find it on the drawing" questions whose answer is this structure; in the atlas you will find them in the question bank and in the lessons.
- Show the liver on the drawing. (level 1)