Morphometric analysis of the human common hepatic artery reveals a rich and accessible target for sympathetic liver denervation

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 1413
• Main Authors: Tzafriri, Abraham Rami, Garcia-Polite, Fernando, Keating, John, Melidone, Raffaele, Knutson, Jennifer, Markham, Peter, Edelman, Elazer R., Mahfoud, Felix
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26.01.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/308; 692/4019; 692/698; 692/699/75; Aged; Aorta; Autopsy; Blood Vessels; Cadavers; Catheter Ablation - methods; Catheters; Denervation; Diabetes mellitus; Female; Hepatic artery; Hepatic Artery - anatomy & histology; Hepatic Artery - innervation; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Liver; Liver - anatomy & histology; Liver - blood supply; Liver - innervation; Liver Circulation - physiology; Lymph nodes; Lymph Nodes - anatomy & histology; Lymph Nodes - blood supply; Lymph Nodes - innervation; Male; Medical instruments; Morphometry; multidisciplinary; Nerves; Pancreas; Pancreas - anatomy & histology; Pancreas - blood supply; Pancreas - innervation; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sympathectomy - methods; Sympathetic Nervous System; Veins & arteries
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05475-6

This study quantified the distribution of nerves and adjacent anatomies surrounding human common hepatic artery (CHA) as guidance for catheter based denervation. CHA collected from cadaveric human donors (n = 20) were histologically evaluated and periarterial dimensions and distributions of nerves, lymph nodes, pancreas and blood vessels quantified by digital morphometry. Nerve abundance decreased significantly with distance from the aortic ostium (P < 0.0001) and was higher in the Superior/Inferior compared to the Anterior/Posterior quadrants (P = 0.014). In each locational group, nerves were absent from the artery wall, and starting 0.5–1.0 mm from the lumen exhibited a first order dependence on radial distance, fully defined by the median distance. Median subject-averaged nerve distance to the lumen was 2.75 mm, ranging from 2.1–3.1 mm in different arterial segments and quadrants and 2.0–3.5 mm in individuals. Inter-individual variance was high, with certain individuals exhibiting 50th and 75th nerve distances of, respectively, 3.5 and 6.5 mm The pancreas rarely approached within 4 mm of the lumen proximally and 2.5 mm more distally. The data indicate that the CHA is a rich and accessible target for sympathetic denervation regardless of sex and diabetes, with efficacy and safety most optimally balanced proximally.