Macroscopic Observation and CT Sectional Analysis of the Liver in an Orang-Utan

Abstract

The liver was anatomically examined in a dead body of the orang-utan. Since each lobe was not ventrally protruded in the orang-utan, the liver appeared a regular square from the visceral aspect. The area data were obtained in 20 horizontal sections by means of the CT scanning. We pointed out that the volume and the weight were concentrated in the dorso-ventrally middle area, but not in the extremely ventral or dorsal margins in the liver. We suggest that its morphological characteristics may be adaptational to fix the liver in the visceral cavity in a condition of the cranio-caudally-directioned gravitation.