Cystic duct
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At the time the article was created Chia Wei Oh had no recorded disclosures.
View Chia Wei Oh's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Raymond Chieng had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Raymond Chieng's current disclosures- Cystic ducts
The cystic duct connects the neck of the gallbladder to the common hepatic duct (CHD), draining bile to and from the biliary tree.
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Gross anatomy
The confluence of the cystic duct and the common hepatic duct forms the common bile duct (CBD). The cystic duct is approximately 2-3 cm long and 2-3 mm in diameter. It contains multiple endoluminal mucosal folds known as the spiral mucosal folds (of Heister) 5.
Arterial supply
variable supply, with blood coming from cystic artery, and left and right hepatic arteries 6,7
Venous drainage
Variant anatomy
There are three main variations of the cystic duct 3:
low cystic duct insertion: into the distal-third of the CHD (~10%)
medial cystic duct insertion: into the left, not the right, side of the CHD (~15%)
parallel cystic duct course: courses parallel to the CHD for at least 2 cm (~10%)
Related pathology
Conditions that may affect the cystic duct include:
cystic duct obstruction, which can result in cholecystitis
cystic duct-duodenal fistula
malignancy (e.g. cholangiocarcinoma)
References
- 1. Chummy S. Sinnatamby. Last's Anatomy. (1999) ISBN: 9780443056116 - Google Books
- 2. Turner M & Fulcher A. The Cystic Duct: Normal Anatomy and Disease Processes. Radiographics. 2001;21(1):3-22; questionnaire 288-94. doi:10.1148/radiographics.21.1.g01ja093 - Pubmed
- 3. Mortelé K & Ros P. Anatomic Variants of the Biliary Tree: MR Cholangiographic Findings and Clinical Applications. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001;177(2):389-94. doi:10.2214/ajr.177.2.1770389 - Pubmed
- 4. Wu Y, Liu Z, Mrikhi R et al. Anatomical Variations of the Cystic Duct: Two Case Reports. World J Gastroenterol. 2008;14(1):155-7. doi:10.3748/wjg.14.155 - Pubmed
- 5. Pina L, Samoilovich F, Urrutia S, Rodríguez A, Alle L, Ferreres A. Surgical Considerations of the Cystic Duct and Heister Valves. Surg J (N Y). 2015;1(1):e23-7. doi:10.1055/s-0035-1567879 - Pubmed
- 6. Chen W, Ying D, Liu Z, He Z. Analysis of the Arterial Supply of the Extrahepatic Bile Ducts and Its Clinical Significance. Clin Anat. 1999;12(4):245-9. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2353(1999)12:4<245::AID-CA2>3.0.CO;2-W - Pubmed
- 7. Ramesh Babu C & Sharma M. Biliary Tract Anatomy and Its Relationship with Venous Drainage. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2014;4(Suppl 1):S18-26. doi:10.1016/j.jceh.2013.05.002 - Pubmed
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