Beaver tail liver

Abstract

Also known as the sliver of liver, beaver tail liver is an anatomic variation of the liver where its left lobe extends laterally to contact and enclose the spleen. Hepatic parenchyma is normal. It may be difficult to distinguish the two organs from each other when both have equal echogenicity or density in ultrasonography and computed tomography. Therefore, it may mimic a splenic trauma or a perisplenic hemorrhage or subcapsular hematoma within the splenic parenchyma.

Beaver tail liver: A rare anatomical variant

“…From 1 Professor, Department of Radiology, Katuri Medical College, 2 Professor, Kamaraju Diagnostic Center, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India W e report a case of 35-year-old male with abdominal pain who was presenting with burning micturition and incidentally found to have elongated left lobe of the liver. Computed tomography (CT) of abdomen done showed an elongated left lobe of the liver and extending in the perisplenic region.…”

“…Beaver tail liver is an anatomical variant of the liver [1]. It is also known as the sliver of the liver.…”

Beaver Tail Liver: A Hepatic Morphology Variant

“…Beaver tail liver, also called sliver of liver, is a rare variant of liver morphology. Sometimes elongated left lobe of the liver can extend laterally across the midline to contact and often surround the spleen [ 1 - 2 ]. They are predominantly found in females and generally but not always detected as an incidental finding in the patient.…”

“…It is more prone to injury in case of trauma occurring to the lower left chest or in the upper quadrant of the left side of the abdomen and it can be misdiagnosed as a subcapsular hematoma of spleen or perisplenic fluid collections. The liver and spleen show similar echogenicity on USG and density in CT especially in cases of abdominal trauma as the two organs are not easily differentiated [ 1 - 2 ].…”

Beaver tail liver: Anatomic variant

“…A second interpretation is of an elongated left lobe which often wraps around the spleen, as depicted in the graphic above . This is significant as it may be mistaken for perisplenic haematoma on CT and ultrasound …”