Abstract:Objective:To observe the number，location,type and caliber of the major hepatic veins and short hepatic veins（SHVs）.
Methods:The SHVs were divided into 3 rows that drained into the left wall, front wall and right wall of the inferior vena cava (IVC) respectively.The extrahepatic length and caliber of the major hepatic veins, the number,location, caliber and the relationship between the major hepatic veins and SHVs were observed and measured in 60 adult cadavers.
Results:The left, middle and right hepatic veins drained into the upper 1/4 segment of the retrohepatic IVC. The left and middle hepatic veins formed a common trunk in 44 cases (73.3%), the 3 major hepatic veins formed a common trunk in 1 case (1.7%), and the 3 major hepatic veins had separate inflow into IVC in 15 cases (25.0%). Three to thirty five branches of SHVs with a mean diameter of 1.5～17.8（5.4±1.4）mm had inflow into the IVC from different directions and locations.There was marked negative correlation between the diameter of the right hepatic vein and that of SHVs.There has marked negative correlation between the diameter of the left hepatic vein and the right hepatic vein with the number of SHVs.The incidence rate of inferior right hepatic veins was 83.3% with an average diameter of 2.6～8.0（4.3±1.2）mm.
Conclusions:The SHVs have much variations but few of them are of large diameter. The diameter and number of SHVs and those of the major hepatic veins are correlated, so that the larger the diameter of the right or left hepatic veins the smaller is the diameter of the SHVs, and vice-versa.