Specific Notch for Ligamentum Teres in an Inferior Male Liver Orientation

Description

Viewed from the visceral (inferior) surface of an adult male liver, the incisura for the ligamentum teres (incisura ligamenti teretis, also termed the umbilical notch or incisura umbilicalis) interrupts the sharp inferior margin. The notch sits anteromedially on the left lobe, leading posteriorly into the fissure for the ligamentum teres and aligning with the sagittal cleft that separates segment III from segment IV in functional anatomy. Medial to this region lies the fissure for the ligamentum venosum, while the quadrate lobe and porta hepatis are positioned more to the right and posterior on the same surface. That small indentation carries disproportionate surgical value because it marks the course of the obliterated left umbilical vein within the free edge of the falciform ligament and provides a dependable external cue for left hepatic segmentation when the superior surface is not accessible. In portal hypertension, recanalization of paraumbilical veins can occur along this pathway, and surgeons and radiologists often reference the ligamentum teres fissure when orienting the liver during laparoscopy or when describing a left-sided lesion relative to segment IV and the umbilical portion of the left portal vein. A reliable landmark. Use this image in gross anatomy teaching on the liver’s visceral surface, in hepatobiliary surgery atlases to anchor descriptions of segmental anatomy and operative orientation, or in radiology and pathology materials that correlate surface landmarks with Couinaud segments and portal venous anatomy. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.