Hepatic artery

The **hepatic artery** refers to a major blood vessel that supplies oxygenated blood to the liver. It is not a molecular target such as a receptor, enzyme, transporter, or ion channel; rather it is an anatomical structure. The most commonly referenced forms are the **common hepatic artery**, which arises from the celiac trunk and gives rise to branches including the gastroduodenal and right gastric arteries before continuing as the **proper hepatic artery**. The proper hepatic artery then divides into right and left branches supplying respective lobes of the liver[4][1][6]. There are numerous variations in its anatomy—classic branching occurs in only about 55–60% of people—with significant implications for abdominal surgery[7][5]. The term "hepatic artery" does not refer to a single molecule or protein but rather an arterial vessel; therefore it is not considered a therapeutic target at the molecular level. The "hepatic artery" is an *anatomical structure*, not a molecule/receptor/therapeutic target. It does not fit standard categories like receptor/enzyme/transporter/etc., nor does it have interacting drugs/mechanisms/biomarkers typical for molecular targets. If you are seeking information on druggable targets related to liver vasculature or function (e.g., receptors expressed by endothelial cells), please specify further.

Other names

Common hepatic arteryProper hepatic arteryCHA (for common hepatic artery, in anatomical literature)PHA (for proper hepatic artery, in anatomical literature)