Segmental anatomy of liver by PET/CT: A pictorial review for nuclear medicine physicians

Learning Objectives 1. Review liver segmental anatomy. 2. Review PET/CT liver segmental anatomy to localize liver masses. 3. Standardize reporting of localization of liver lesions based on segmental anatomy of the liver.

Nuclear medicine physicians need to report liver lesions in a unified manner to improve communication with surgeons and oncologists. Liver segmentation based on Couinaud’s nomenclature is an accepted reporting method with surgical relevance. The liver segments are defined by their relationships to the vascular structures with potential application of preoperative determination and feasibility of hepatic lesion resection. Newer PET/CT scanners with higher spatial resolution permit better visualization of hepatic segments. The accuracy in localization of liver masses in PET/CT varies among different readers. We present PET/CT images that illustrate the segmental liver anatomy to improve accuracy in localization of hepatic masses