Presentation
Renal colic
Patient Data
Coronal and axial CT images show the inferior lobe of the liver lying below the costal margin, and elongated left liver lobe extends laterally and in close contact with the spleen.
Case Discussion
Beaver tail liver is an elongated left liver lobe that extends laterally to contact and surround the spleen (normal variant). This is also known as a sliver of liver and is a variant of hepatic morphology.
This variant is more common in females. The liver parenchyma is normal and thereby has the same risks of hepatic pathology as the rest of the liver except in trauma, where it is more prone to injury following trauma to the left upper quadrant or lower left chest.
Riedel lobe was described in 1888 as a tongue-like projection of the anterior border of the right lobe in several female patients who had palpable masses in the right hypochondrium.