Caudate lobe
Lobus caudatus
- Latin eponym: Lobus Spigeli
- Eponym: Spiegel's lobe; Spiegelian lobe
Definition
The caudate lobe (lobus caudatus; Spigelian lobe) is situated upon the posterior surface of the right lobe of the liver, opposite the tenth and eleventh thoracic vertebræ. It is bounded, below, by the porta; on the right, by the fossa for the inferior vena cava; and, on the left, by the fossa for the ductus venosus. It looks backward, being nearly vertical in position; it is longer from above downward than from side to side, and is somewhat concave in the transverse direction. The caudate process is a small elevation of the hepatic substance extending obliquely lateralward, from the lower extremity of the caudate lobe to the under surface of the right lobe. It is situated behind the porta, and separates the fossa for the gall-bladder from the commencement of the fossa for the inferior vena cava.