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Multiple Choice

What are the three lobes?

In liver anatomy, how many lobes you call a liver depends on the classification used. There are four lobes in the classic anatomical scheme—right, left, caudate, and quadrate—but in many contexts (especially when considering functional or surface relationships), the quadrate lobe is viewed as part of the left lobe. That leaves three lobes: right, left, and caudate. The caudate lobe sits on the posterior aspect near the IVC and ligamentum venosum and is distinct enough to be named a separate lobe, while the quadrate lobe lies on the inferior surface adjacent to the gallbladder and porta hepatis and is often considered part of the left lobe in functional anatomy. So the three-lobe model reflects right, left, and caudate as the separate lobes in that context.

In liver anatomy, how many lobes you call a liver depends on the classification used. There are four lobes in the classic anatomical scheme—right, left, caudate, and quadrate—but in many contexts (especially when considering functional or surface relationships), the quadrate lobe is viewed as part of the left lobe. That leaves three lobes: right, left, and caudate. The caudate lobe sits on the posterior aspect near the IVC and ligamentum venosum and is distinct enough to be named a separate lobe, while the quadrate lobe lies on the inferior surface adjacent to the gallbladder and porta hepatis and is often considered part of the left lobe in functional anatomy. So the three-lobe model reflects right, left, and caudate as the separate lobes in that context.