Vasculature of the Gallbladder, Lateral View

Description

Positioned on the undersurface of the liver, the gallbladder is rendered in lateral profile with the fundus projecting anteriorly and inferiorly and the neck tapering posteromedially toward the biliary tree. Branching vessels track along the serosa and penetrate the gallbladder wall, consistent with the cystic artery distribution from the hepatocystic (Calot) triangle. The cystic duct exits the neck and joins the common hepatic duct to form the common bile duct, which descends inferiorly toward the duodenum. Small periductal branches accompany the ducts, clarifying how the arterial arcade relates to the extrahepatic biliary passages. Lateral depiction of the gallbladder vasculature matters because cholecystectomy complications cluster around misidentification or injury of the cystic artery and adjacent ducts within Calot triangle, where arterial anatomy varies and accessory or replaced right hepatic arteries can run close to the cystic duct. Bleeding from a short cystic artery, avulsion at its origin, or thermal injury to periductal vessels can obscure the critical view of safety and raise the risk of common bile duct injury. Surgeons also encounter cystic artery pseudoaneurysm after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a rare but specific cause of hemobilia and gastrointestinal bleeding. Orientation is everything. Use this illustration in gross anatomy and hepatobiliary modules to teach the spatial relationship between the cystic artery, gallbladder wall, and cystic duct, and in operative technique chapters outlining safe dissection in the hepatocystic triangle. It also supports clinical graphics for acute cholecystitis, where arterial compromise and wall inflammation correlate with ischemia at the fundus and gangrenous change. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.